Caterpillars are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera.
Lepidoptera is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing ten percent of the total described species of living organisms, and placed in 126 families and 46 superfamilies. It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world. The Lepidoptera show many variations of the basic body structure that have evolved to gain advantages in lifestyle and distribution. Recent estimates suggest the order may have more species than earlier thought, and is among the four most species-rich orders, along with the Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera.
Quercus muehlenbergii, the chinquapinoak, is a deciduous species of tree in the white oak group. The species was often called Quercus acuminata in older literature. Quercus muehlenbergii is native to eastern and central North America. It ranges from Vermont to Minnesota, south to the Florida panhandle, and west to New Mexico in the United States. In Canada it is only found in southern Ontario, and in Mexico it ranges from Coahuila south to Hidalgo.
The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyralidae as a subfamily, making the combined group one of the largest families in the Lepidoptera. The latest review by Eugene G. Munroe and Maria Alma Solis retain the Crambidae as a full family of Pyraloidea.
Quercus coccinea, the scarlet oak, is a deciduous tree in the red oak section Lobatae of the genus Quercus, in the family Fagaceae.
The Cossidae, the cossid millers or carpenter millers, make up a family of mostly large miller moths. This family contains over 110 genera with almost 700 known species, and many more species await description. Carpenter millers are nocturnal Lepidoptera found worldwide, except the Southeast Asian subfamily Ratardinae, which is mostly active during the day.
Agathiphaga is a genus of moths, known as kauri moths. It is the only living in the family Agathiphagidae. This caddisfly-like lineage of primitive moths was first reported by Lionel Jack Dumbleton in 1952, as a new genus of Micropterigidae.
The Cossinae are the nominate subfamily of the Cossidae. The caterpillars of several Cossinae species, such as the carpenterworm and the goat moth, are significant pests. On the other hand, in Chile the caterpillars of the Chilean moth are collected on a commercial scale for sale as fishing bait and terrarium pet food; they are usually called "butterworms" in international trade.
Megacyllene robiniae, commonly known as the locust borer, is a species of longhorn beetle endemic to eastern North America. It is a serious pest of Robinia pseudoacacia, the black locust tree, with which it is sympatric.
Acossus centerensis, the poplar carpenterworm, is a moth of the family Cossidae. It is found in North America from New Jersey west to Illinois and North Dakota. In Canada it is found from Quebec and Ontario west to British Columbia.
Acossus populi, the aspen carpenterworm, is a moth of the family Cossidae. It is found in the United States in Nevada, Colorado, California and in the northern Rocky Mountains. In Canada it is found in Ontario and British Columbia.
Syssphinx bicolor, the honey locust moth, is a North American moth in the family Saturniidae.
Euparthenos is a monotypic moth genus in the family Erebidae erected by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1876. Its only species, Euparthenos nubilis, the locust underwing, was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1823. The adults resemble some of the underwing moths of genus Catocala, which are fairly close relatives, in color, pattern, and the habit of resting on tree trunks. But E. nubilis can usually be immediately recognized by the four concentric black bands per hindwing, as opposed to one or two in Catocala. Color morphs of E. nubilis with altered pattern are known, however, and these may be hard to recognize without detailed examination.
Paranthrene robiniae, the western poplar clearwing, is a moth of the family Sesiidae. It is found from sea level to near the timber line from Alaska southward along the Pacific Coast to southern California and throughout the Rocky Mountains into the desert southwest and as far east as Kansas and North Dakota.
Prionoxystus is a genus of moths in the family Cossidae.
Prolimacodes lilalia is a moth in the family Limacodidae. It was described by Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. in 1937. It is found in French Guiana.
Prionoxystus piger, the baccharis carpenterworm moth, is a moth in the family Cossidae. It was described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1865. It is found in Florida and Cuba.
Givira lotta, the pine carpenterworm moth, is a moth in the family Cossidae. The species was first described by William Barnes and James Halliday McDunnough in 1910. It is found in the United States, where it has been recorded from California, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. The habitat consists of pine forests.
Delphinia picta is a species of picture-winged fly in the family Ulidiidae. The specific name picta is from Latin and means "painted." It is the only species in the monospecific genus Delphinia. It is found in the United States on the East Coast and in the Midwest from Florida to Maine across to Kansas through Minnesota but also can be found in Mexico and El Salvador. It is sometimes mistaken for a species of fruit fly, but D. picta do not feed on living plant matter, as they are detritivores and eat decaying plant matter. They also have been observed eating fermenting frass from Megacyllene robiniae on black locust trees. They can be found almost anywhere there is decaying vegetation: landfills, temperate deciduous forests, swamps, and even shaded fields.
