Caterpillar Identification Please

[Kathleen Moon]

Scott Stephens wrote:
> 
> I found a (giant???) caterpillar around Elgin Illinois that I have never
> seen around this area before. Its around 2" long, 1/2" diameter and has
> pairs of blue and yellow bumps along its length, with tiny hairs or spines
> growing out. It sort of looks like
> http://www.insect-world.com/images/lepidopt2/empmoth.jpg but not exactly. If
> it matters I can scan a picture of it. Please E-mail any replies.
> 
> [1/] Can I sell it?
> [2/] Can I feed it and watch it hatch into something with really big wings?
> [3/] Can I eat it? Got any recipes?

1/ Maybe.  Instead, you should raise it (make sure you have the right
host foliage) and enjoy seeing the adult emerge and spread its wings.
3/ Now you are getting into something more reasonable.  Before it
matures and pupates, get on the phone to a local museum of natural
history (Chicago's Field Museum?) and try to get an id on it.
3/ Get real (in other words, pick #2 and enjoy what luck has given you
the opportunity to enjoy).  The problem is that many saturniids have
hairs or spines that contain toxins.  Some itch, others produce rashes,
and so on.  Regarless of what turns out to be, be careful and do not
touch the spines and/or hairs.

Good luck ... and do post a picture on your website, or on the
alt.binaries.pictures.animals newsgroup, and post the URL to it here
(many people get rather sore - or worse - at their fellow websurfers for
posting graphics here on the s.b.e.l newsgroup).

Pierre A Plauzoles
sphinxangelorum at bigfoot.com
(temporarily using my wife's Internet access)