The final and perhaps most stunning of the slug moth caterpillars that we were able to find this past summer was the Monkey Slug, or “Hag Moth” caterpillar. This particular one was first noticed by Sarah on the upper side of a dogwood leaf during a visit to Horseshoe Bend Natural Area near Houston MO. We went on to find two in this particular tree.
A leading thought on why these guys look the way they do is to mimic the shed exoskeleton of a tarantula.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 