Lophocampa caryae

[Peter M. Noyes]

Not many of us even think about photographing the lowly caterpillar. This picture shows a caterpillar in the larva stage of the Hickory Tusock or Tiger Moth. Butterflys and moths go through various stages of development in their life cycle. The first stage is the egg, then the larva (caterpillar), then the pupa or caccoon and finally the adult stage. Larva of this moth feed primarily on Juglandaceae (Walnut - Hickory in our area) trees in groups of hundreds. They often skeletonize the trees tehy feed on. They will also dine on Ash, Oak, Elm and Willow trees. The hair on the larva of this species can cause a rash on some people. This moth is found from Southern Canada to the Appalachians in NC. and west to the Rockies.
Picture taken with a Nikon D2X camera with the 105MM F2.8 macro lens. I used flash with a flash compensation of -1/3d. Picture taken at 1/60 sec, at F11.0 and ISO 200.

[Mike Moats]

Hey Pete, thanks for the info, and great job on this one. The cat really contrasts well against the BG colors, and very nice sharp details. Well done.

[intoit]

Oh I love these little guys - we don't have this particular kind here in Eastern Ontario but there is a similar yellow bottle hairy one I like to shoot when they're around. I really like the contrasting colours and all those little hairs are nice and sharp. Beautifully shot Peter and thanks for the info:-)

[Matthew Pugh]

Hi
I rather enjoy a good caterpillar shot - so I am certainly enjoying viewing this one. Basically you have a really good looking composition that has many visually stimulating areas that are fun to explore, and pretty much spot on details in the main star. But being highly critical I would consider losing the upper left corner of background area, IMO this just marginally distracts from a top composition
All the best
Matthew

[Robert O'Toole]

Hi Peter, this is my favorite of your the images you have shared. I shoot caterpillers all the time and really enjoyed seeing this one, even the thumbnail from the main page. I like it a lot the detail and colors are great.

Thanks for sharing.

Robert

[Robert Amoruso]

Agree with Robert O'Toole, you are posting better and better work each day. The colors are awesome and I like the contrast between the caterpillar and the BG.

[Ed Cordes]

I also like the detail and the color contrast in this image. Only small suggestion would be to burn the upper leaf to darken it a bit.