Some caterpillars are colorful, others are camouflaged. Some are safe to handle, but many have stinging hairs or spikes. Shapes, colors, sizes, and textures vary wildly among the larvae of butterflies, moth, and skippers. Learning to recognize caterpillars is a useful skill for gardeners, parents, and nature enthusiasts alike.
There are a total of [ 162 ] Caterpillars of North America in the CaterpillarIdentification.org database. There may be color variations in some caterpillars so body shape is important when attempting to identify a species. To remove entries, simply click on the 'X' in the red box of each respective record.