What species of caterpillar is this?


I enjoy the outdoors and am always on the lookout for creatures of all varieties.  Imagine my delight to discover such an interesting caterpillar!  I happened to have my macro camera setup with me at the time and photographed the creature as best as I could.  I have found many varieties of caterpillars over time, many of them furry (tussock moth caterpillar), hairless (white-lined sphinx caterpillar), or just plain huge (elephant hawk-moth caterpillar).  I have never found one quite like this one though.

At my computer, I have hunted high and low for its species.  I searched numerous websites and looked at hundreds of different photos.  There were some that were close but none with all the features displayed by this one.  It was a wholly unique find on many levels.

The caterpillar was found in central Alberta in a wooded area, I don't recall the vegetation it was on when I discovered it.  There was only the one; a solitary individual.   Some caterpillars have stinging spines, but I don't believe this one does.  I imagine the lepidopteran is toxic though because of the vivid colours it displays.

I will try to uncover its species over the next few days.  If I find it I will post it in this blog.  Any assistance you can give me would be helpful.

Thanks for reading.   www.ericspix.com



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