[Tammie]

Some more ID help required please. This guy has been sitting on a sunflower for two days now (since I noticed him anyway) and is proceding to eat the flower petal by petal.
Any ideas out there of what this one is and might become?

[steve_nova]

Hi Tammie. Now this really is a stab in the dark but because of it's relative size and stockyness (and lack of a tail horn) it may well be a Noctuid moth.
Secondly, as it is eating a member of the Asteraceae (Daisy family), a genus of Noctuid moths that seem to eat members of this family of plants called Cucullia could be a loooooooong shot possibility.
I'm sure that a strong flying genus like Cucullia will have North American representatives also.

Probably completely wrong!

[Tony_InDevon]

Sorry I don't know what it is Tammie, but beautiful photographic detail on the flower.

[Cindy M]

hi Tammie, I looked through my caterpillar guides but was unable to find a match to your image. You may want to check this url, since many of these caterpillars are in your range:

Caterpillars of Eastern Forests

You might also try writing my friend Lynn Scott, who has the most comprehensive website on North American moths ever put together. She focuses mainly on adult moths, but she may be able to help you out, as she lives in Ottawa Canada. You can find her email address at her website-

Moths of the Ottawa area

good luck, hope you find an id :)

[Nina P]

What a beautiful catterpillar, we dont get many of them like that here, in a way reminds me of the british hawk moth type of grub, but never had one eat sunflowers!!
Nice one Tammie.
Nina.

[Tammie]

Cindy, thank you so much for both of those links... lots of investigating to do now! You wouldn't happen to have one of those on dragonflies, would you? Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it.
Nina, I'm glad you like the shot. I thought it was a pretty cool looking critter too even if it was eating my flower!
By the way, it's gone today.