As we stood with coffee cups and shared horror stories, exaggerating the pain and suffering inflicted upon the innocent child-versions of ourselves by our initial contact with asp caterpillars, we acknowledged that 1) we were both unusually brave and fine young people, and 2) this spiny window walker was a relative perhaps, but no asp. Asps are hairy and this guy is spiny. Very very spiny.
I was having a terrible time trying to get a reasonable image as the reflectivity of the window coatings played games with the auto-focus on my camera. Knowing I could not leave such a stingy thing crawling on the house so close to a doorway anyway, I carefully transferred the slug from window to trowel, and carried it out into better light.
I took a few more shots and, uttering a few words of farewell, gently heaved this guy over the fence to a spot where there is no regular human or even much animal traffic. A spot where both slug and other neighborhood travelers may stay safely separate one from the other.
It didn't take long to discover that our intimidating visitor is a Spiny Oak Slug. More scientifically, a slug caterpillar of the Limacodidae family, genus Euclea.
Sometimes, a common name tells you most of what you really need to know.
14 comments:
What an interesting looking little fella! I'm not scientific enough to care too much about the scientific names. And I definitely don't remember them. That goes for both flora and fauna. While I include the scientific names from time to time, it is really the common names that stick and give me the info I need to know. Now I'm going to go out and check my garden for any Spiny Oak Slugs!
Spines or SNOWFLAKES? I have never seen anything like it. Thanks so much for sharing. (and bugguide? heart heart heart)
Rebecca: I include those scientific names because it pleases the smarty pants in me, honestly. I have to look them up every time and rarely recall any of them spontaneously. Spiny Oak Slug FTW!
Debra: OK, then you see it too. I kept thinking this caterpillar had a certain crystalline structure to the spines. And/or is lacy. I just didn't quite get all the way to snowflake!
It's kind of pretty - for a slug. I wouldn't want to touch it either or, worse yet, step on it. Dispatching it over the fence was the right thing to do.
You had me laughing, "...unusually brave and fine young people..."--so funny. I remember asps--hairy and hurty. I've never seen one of your visitors and I'm glad for that. Hope he/she finds plenty to eat and not to sting or stick wherever you tossed him.
Kris: This slug turns into a very brown hairy moth - not anything that would catch your eye under any circumstances. I don't think I've seen the moths around much, but as I noted, it is particularly unremarkable so maybe they are around and I never noticed before? Now that I've seen one, I can do without the slugs, regardless.
Tina: That's the plan, anyway. We seem to be seeing a fair number of critters lately we don't see much of (which I'm grateful for). I can be detached and brave for about 18 minutes per day and that is it!
I had never heard of these but they do look formidable with those spines. I love the name although they do not look like a slug to me.
Donna: Thanks for dropping by! They are slug-caterpillars. Names can be a bit misleading at times or at other times say everything there is to know.
I saw one of those this morning on one of the garden walls. I thought it might be an asp too and flicked it off with a stick into the deeper garden. I'm glad to know what it's called.
Pam: I am seeing all sorts of unusual critters these past few days. I think the coming cold has somehow triggered some seasonal shifts. I'm not a cold weather appreciator so much but I will enjoy the end of mosquitoes for a while!
Spiny and definitely not to be touched (I never survived an asp attack but have been lectured so many times about them I too am scared of them!). He looks awfully spiky to be a slug, which reallys hould be grey with a long goopy trail. I love his green color and fractal-like patterning though- gorgeous pics!
THGM: I wonder if, when this guy turns into a moth, he has a LOT of attitude, based upon his tough guy (or at least tough looking guy) start?
Post a Comment