Phylum: Arthrodpoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Noctuidae
Genus and species: Acronicta funeralis
I spotted the caterpillar on a bush near a stream at the NC Zoo in Asheboro. It is the caterpillar for the Funerary Dagger Moth. I saw it about eleven in the morning in Early September. The bush it was on was a young birch tree one of only 13 types of leaves that they feed on.
Fun Facts! They aren’t common in North Carolina, so the one I found was special. The adult of this caterpillar looks like this.
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