Caterpillars in Your Yard and Garden

Silverspotted skipper

Skippers

Silverspotted skipper caterpillars (Epargyreus clarus) are present in summer and fall. They produce two to three generations per year.

The head of this nearly two-inch-long caterpillar is rusty-brown with a pair of large, conspicuous orange "eye spots" above the mouthparts. The first thoracic segment ("neck" region) is constricted and red-brown. The rest of the body is yellow-green with transverse narrow dark lines. Host plants are black locust, honey locust and wisteria.

About the family

Skippers are in the Hesperiidae family.