# Caterpillar ID anyone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillar-id-anyone/963810 "2022-05-02T14:45:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillar-id-anyone/963810/1 "2022-05-02T14:45:36Z")
Yesterday we were doing spring cleaning in our garage. My gf placed a birdhouse onto one of the lawn tractors that is covered by a sheet. Minutes later (?) the sheet was covered with tiny (2 mm) caterpillar/inchworm type things. Any entomologists in the house? [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/lIaqKLm.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/lIaqKLm) [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/18FxEZt.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/18FxEZt) I moved the birdhouse and the sheet outside. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillar-id-anyone/963810/2 "2022-05-02T15:06:48Z")
Off the bat, I’d say gypsy moths. [https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests-diseases/hungry-pests/the-threat/hp-egm/hp-egm](https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests-diseases/hungry-pests/the-threat/hp-egm/hp-egm) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillar-id-anyone/963810/3 "2022-05-02T15:28:43Z")
Ewwww, cool. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillar-id-anyone/963810/4 "2022-05-03T15:06:16Z")
They’ve been renamed. > **[Invasive Insect Gets a New Name: Spongy Moth](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/invasive-moth-gets-a-new-name-spongy-moth-180979680/)** > > After removing the common name "gypsy moth," which contained a racial slur, the Entomological Society of America has assigned a new designation ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillar-id-anyone/963810/5 "2022-05-03T15:40:51Z")
Wow. TIL. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillar-id-anyone/963810/6 "2022-05-03T16:46:25Z")
Next up, the Cher song _Spongys, Tramps, and Thieves_. I heard it playing in a spongy cab. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillar-id-anyone/963810/7 "2022-05-04T02:20:16Z")
Agree on the spongy moth ID, although the pictures aren’t so clear. The basic shape and appearance is right, although I don’t see the characteristic red and blue dots on the back, but maybe they’re not so visible in early instars. The timing is about right, with L. dispar larvae starting to come out and feed in May. The location is about right, as spongy moths generally lay egg masses around the base of a solid object and the hatchlings climb toward their food source. (Musta been confused to find themselves merely inside a birdhouse instead of surrounded by delicious leaves!) If they are indeed L. dispar “spongy moth”, kill all the caterpillars you can find now, before they become larger and more voracious.