This 1 1/2 inch caterpillar has bright orange warts from which tufts of orange and black bristles grow. Its face is black and whitish, and it has a broad, black stripe which runs down the back of its abdomen (A,B,C). Image “D” shows a “mummy”, a dead specimen which has been devoured from within, probably by wasp larvae, which will soon emerge from the dead body. The adult moth is white or tan with a wingspan of about 1 1/2 inches. They fly from April to September. The caterpillars feed not only on cattail as their common name implies, but also on a variety of grasses and sedges.