Caterpillars are reared and identified either from their adult form or by barcoding. The caterpillars that eat Ericameria (rubber rabbitbrush) and other native Great Basin shrubs are under-studied; it is therefore likely that many of these hostplant relationships will be new, and we will take the first larval photographs for many native moth species. This natural history work is a critical part of conserving and managing Western ecosystems: because Lepidoptera have highly specialized diets, with most species consuming only a single genus or family of plant, mapping these food web relationships is critical if we are to understand ecosystem-scale consequences of global change.
You might also notice some strange-looking, non-caterpillar forms on this page; those are larvae or cocoons of parasitoid wasps and flies, which are in turn highly specialized on their caterpillar hosts.
