The Devil in the Hickory Tree

What am I looking at?

This is a caterpillar of the regal moth (Citheronia regalis), which earned its common name – hickory horned devil – due to its striking and infernal appearance. In this image, the caterpillar is holding its enormous – by caterpillar standards – body (1) upside down as it hangs onto the stem of a sumac plant with its prolegs (2). The anal claspers (3) at the antipodes of its body, its last pair of prolegs, are bright red. This species’ characteristic horns (4) point down toward the bottom of the image. 

Click on the right arrow to see more views, including an adult regal moth.

Biology in the background

This species can be found in the South and the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The caterpillars feed for about 40 days on several different types of plants, including hickory trees – hence its common name – but their favorite food source is the common persimmon tree. Before they pupate, a process that takes place underground, the mature caterpillars go through a wandering phase. During that time, their bodies turn a vivid cyan; because of their conspicuous size and coloration, that’s when they are usually seen.

The adults’ mouthparts are small and nonfunctional; they don’t feed, relying solely on the energy stores they accumulated during the larval stage. Instead of foraging, the adults concentrate on mating. Once a female mates, it lays its eggs and dies. A male, however, can mate several times before it reaches the end of its life. But female and male alike, once a moth depletes its stored energy, usually about a week after it emerges from its cocoon, it dies.

These are the largest caterpillars and moths (by mass) north of Mexico. The caterpillars can reach 15 centimeters long (6 inches). The adult moths can have a wingspan of roughly the same size.

Technique

These images were created using macrophotography.