Brown-hooded owlet moth caterpillar

Yellow, black and red caterpillar on goldenrod

Or, more specifically, the larva of the brown-hooded owlet moth, Cucullia convexipennis, on goldenrod Solidago sp. While the caterpillar is a stunner, the adult moth is rather a wall flower. The shed exoskeleton is immediately behind (above) the caterpillar. The caterpillar’s head is down. Taken on a Nikon D90 with a Micro-Nikkor 60mm AF lens. For a higher resolution image that has not been turned to mud by the WordPress image muddifier, see our Brown-hooded owlet moth larvae at our Flickr page.