This is one of the most distinctive of our very hairy caterpillars. It has an orange to red head, four large, white tufts standing up behind the head, and two red warts on a black central stripe towards the rear. It grows to about 1 1/2 inches long and feeds on a variety of host plants, to include hackberry, hickory, willow and elm, all of which are readily available in our two nature centers. The adult is a gray-brown moth (shown in photo D). This species overwinters as an egg mass.