Caterpillars

Over the weekend we found these in the oak tree behind our house. Mom helped me look them up on the internet and I took pictures and wrote this report for extra credit at school.

Orange Striped Oakworm

The Oakworm's latin name is Anisota Senatoria.

The adult moths emerge from the ground to mate in late spring. They are poor flyers. You often find them climbing up oak trees. The females lay up to 500 eggs in clusters on the underside of the oak leaves. The eggs hatch 1-2 weeks after they are laid. They usually hatch in late June. Soon there will be an army that is hungry and feast on leaves from July to October stripping the trees of leaves.

In October they start digging 3-4 inches into the ground to spin a coccoon and spend the winter turining into a moth. When they turn into moths, they are yellow with white spots on the wings.

The oakworm is 55mm long and is black in color with 4 yellow-orange stripes running the length of the body. They have short spines portruding from the sides of the body and short black antennae.

Mom helped me catch one and I took it to school to show the kids. Keirra named it "Bob" and we kept it in the bug jar till late in the day when we let it go on an oak tree near the playground. Did you know that caterpillars poop? Well these do and it looked like little black balls.