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Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar

Agraulis vanillae

Photo by Allen Hoof
Published on Project Noah
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21.4497, -158.028

Field Notes

Description:

Black caterpillar, about 15mm long, with black spikes and orange-gray-orange "racing stripe."

Habitat:

Suburban area on tropical upland plateau.

Notes:

Spotted outside residence.

Species ID Suggestions

Gulf Fritillary

Agraulis vanillae

Comments (2)

Yes, I forgot to provide the additional reference in the comments. I only provided that link because it showed that the Gulf Fritillary is now in Hawaii. Here is the other one I meant to post: http://bugguide.net/node/view/567/bgimage. I really love it when they have these lavender stripes.
Thanks for the ID Machi. In checking the reference you provided, I noticed that the coloration of my spotting was different from that of the caterpillar at the reference link. Further checking revealed considerable variation in the color scheme of the stripes on A. vanillae larvae within a general black-orange theme, but the prominent black spikes is a constant.
Photographed
PublishedApril 15, 2013

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