My 6 year old son made a startling discovery today when we purchased a pumpkin at our local Whole Foods store in southern New Jersey (USA). There was a very large (3-4" long, and very thick) caterpillar attached to it. It is lime green, and a bit translucent. Its like nothing I've ever seen (at least outside a zoo). It's "knobby"; broken up into very distinct segments, each about 1 cm long. Each segment also has a vertical white stripe about 1 cm long. Its skin is very smooth, except for orderly patches of white "hair" that appear in columns along its body (about one every cm). It's mouth appears to be hairy (like the upholstery attachment of a vacuum cleaner). The origin of the pumpkin it road in on is an organic farm in Pennsylvania, so it may be a species native to Pennsylvania. I found a photo of what appears to be the same species, and will attempt to attach it to this post. Since I'm not sure it will survive on its own in these here parts, I've created a "home" for our new friend out of netting and a wood floor, and placed a much of milkweed branches and leaves within it (which I understand is a favorite of certain species of butterfly). So far today, it's been doing a lot of exploring all over the branches and leaves, but it does not seem to be eating. A couple of times I caught it trying to suspend vertically from a branch, but then it fell (could it be ready for its metamorphosis?) Any idea what kind of caterpillar we have here? Anything else we should be doing to help it survive? Would it be better off if we let it fend for itself in the wild? Any advise would be appreciated. I hope you are able to view the photo. If the photo doesn't post properly, I can email it to anyone who thinks they have an idea. Regards, Eric [/url][/img]
Knobby Caterpillar I found one today, which fit your description, as I was mowing my lawn. I had never seen one before and have no clue what it is. I have it in a jar. Paul burke, Va.
I just found one of these too! I just went outside where my husband had been building a new step on our deck and spotted one of these guys too! I have never seen a caterpillar that looks like this I would love to know what it is.
