BIG Black Caterpillar

[Pierre A Plauzoles]

In a previous article, 73530.317 at CompuServe.COM (John Lemen) says:

>Searched all over the net, but couldn't find any info on a large 
>black caterpillar - approx 3" long and .5" diameter. It had 
>bristles on each segment - resembled a bottle brush ! We live in 
>Omaha, NE a couple hundred yards from the Missouri River; lot has 
>many trees, mostly bur oaks.

Do you have any catalpas in the area?  The caterpillar of the catalpa 
sphinx comes close to that description, as does the white-lined sphinx, 
which feeds on a large number of plants.  If it *was* hairy, maybe it was 
a tiger moth?  "Black and three inches long" makes me think of those two 
sphingids, but they are hairless (at least their hairs are microscopic, 
if they have any), but you say "bristles", which stumps me.  Maybe it was 
a saturniid?  Some of them get pretty big and some do feed on oak.

I realize this isn't of much help, but I hope there was at least 
something you could use.

Keep us informed.
-- 
Pierre Plauzoles   ae779 at lafn.org
Canoga Park, California