06/15/2026
Before you reach for anything, look at what you're actually looking at. Seven of the most common caterpillars in American gardens and yards — and the butterfly or moth each one becomes. 🌿
Seven transformations to recognize:
Black Swallowtail — the green caterpillar with bold black bands and yellow-orange spots on your dill, parsley, or fennel. Leave it. The adult is one of the most striking butterflies in the country.
Mourning Cloak — black with red spots and branched spines, often found on willow, elm, and cottonwood. One of the longest-lived butterflies in North America — adults overwinter and emerge in late winter.
Red Admiral — spiny dark caterpillar on stinging nettles or false nettle. The adult's orange-red wing bands are unmistakable.
American Lady — bristly dark caterpillar often found on pearly everlasting and pussytoes. The adult has distinctive eyespots on the hindwing underside.
Milbert's Tortoiseshell — black and spiny with yellow side spots, found on stinging nettles. Northern species, vivid orange and dark wings.
Cloudless Sulphur — smooth bright green, nearly invisible on its host. Becomes one of the most vivid large yellow butterflies in the US — common from the Great Plains to the Atlantic coast.
Tomato hornworm — the large green caterpillar with diagonal white stripes and a curved rear horn. It becomes the Five-spotted Hawkmoth — a substantial moth with pink and grey patterning and a wingspan approaching five inches. 🌱
Every caterpillar is a future pollinator. Observe before you react.
