The mature caterpillar is about 2 3/4 inches in length. The color varies on individuals from mostly yellow to mostly black. The head is black. The sides are often marked with vertical black lines. There is a long, straight black horn on the top of the last segment.
This is a very common caterpillar around Catalpa trees which is the food plant. Caterpillars can be seen feeding on Catalpa leaves around the Gifford Road parking lot and along the Wetlands trail usually in August.
The adult female rafts the eggs with as many as 500 being laid in a cluster. The group feeds together through the 3rd instar. The caterpillars are heavily parasitized by braconid wasps. The moth has a wingspan of 2 5/8 – 3 1/2 inches. The thorax is brown with black along the sides. The forewing is gray and brown with black and tan markings. The black and white reniform spot is at the top of a tan area. The hindwing is plain brown with a dark brown submarginal line.
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