Caterpillar ID help please?

birdlestein · #1 (**permalink**) 09-04-2011, 08:09 PM

Good Evening,

I came across this monster caterpillar whilst out cycling in Belgium. Although the picture does not depict the size all that well, this pretty thing is about the size of an adult finger. I took the picture as I was impressed at the size of the caterpillar, something I had not seen before and certainly not as big as this one.

Please can anybody help with the identification of this caterpillar?

Many thanks
Birdlestein

Anders152 · #2 (**permalink**) 15-04-2011, 06:10 PM

Looks like the larva of a Goat Moth to me, though hope someone confirms this. Great find...I think they are rarely seen as they stay hidden most of the time.

Kathryn

birdlestein · #3 (**permalink**) 17-04-2011, 06:41 PM

Thank you Kathryn, you are right. I posted another query on the Natural History Museum forums and a couple of people confirmed that it is indeed the caterpillar of the Goat Moth. I had never seen one before and thought maybe it was local to Belgium but I believe they are also found in the UK. They live in trees and leave them in the spring time to find another place to pupate. Here is a link I found once it had been confirmed as a caterpillar of the Goat Moth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cossus_cossus

Ange