caterpillar: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Oct. 9, 2026

Photos and Videos

Hungry, hungry caterpillar

Larval mourning cloak butterfly

A monarch butterfly caterpillar clings to a stem of swamp milkweed with clusters of pink flowers, against a blurred green background in Day Preserve, Illinois.

A large, pale blue-green Atlas moth caterpillar with white spiny protuberances clings to a branch surrounded by green leaves.

Close-up of several tiny, spiky, newly hatched leopard lacewing caterpillars and a few round, mature eggs on a green leaf.

Larval Gulf fritillary

Rusty Tussock Moth caterpillar (Orgyia antiquua) with long hairs and colorful tufts crawls along a green pine branch.

A banded woolly bear caterpillar (Pyrrharctia isabella) with fuzzy black and orange bands crawls on a textured wooden surface.

A flannel moth caterpillar (Megalopyge opercularis) with dense, tan and gray hair rests on a green leaf at night.

Observe a caterpillar munching on leaves

Monarch Butterfly Migration Explained

View the hatching of the cabbage white caterpillars from eggs

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

tobacco budworm pink bollworm Scotch pine caterpillar armyworm How Many Legs Does a Caterpillar Have?processionary caterpillar casebearer measuring worm Bollworm cabbage looper leaf miner common garden insects and their larvae butterfly moth skipper

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

wasp. Vespid Wasp (Vespidaea) with antennas and compound eyes drink nectar from a cherry. Hornets largest eusocial wasps, stinging insect in the order Hymenoptera, related to bees. Pollination

Creepy Crawlies Quiz

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

Green tree python snake (Chondropython viridis) in a rainforest.

Creepy Crawlers Quiz

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is seen in Switzerland on December 2024

Animal Factoids

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz