- 1). Take a close-up picture of the caterpillar. This will help with identification later by enabling you to examine the details at your leisure. Place a familiar object, such as a coin, next to the caterpillar and take a picture of them together to establish the caterpillar's size. Obviously, caterpillars grow, but each species has a maximum size.
- 2). Examine the plant the caterpillar is feeding on. This can be crucial to identification, as most caterpillars feed only on a small number of host plants. A caterpillar eating the leaves on an oak tree, for example, could belong to one of only a very limited number of species.
- 3). Note the caterpillar's movement. Does it crawl, or does it make looping movements?
- 4). Note whether the caterpillar is alone or with others and whether they have made a silk tent in the surrounding leaves.
- 5). Refer to a comprehensive guidebook to the butterflies and moths of your region that shows the larvae. Create a list of potential species to consider, then narrow your list.
- 6). Narrow your list by eliminating all the species of caterpillars that have different physical characteristics than the one you want to identify. If you have a furry brown caterpillar, for example, you can eliminate all the caterpillar species with smooth skin and all the brightly colored ones.
- 7). Eliminate species that move differently than the one you want to identify.
- 8). Eliminate caterpillar species whose maximum size is smaller than your caterpillar.
- 9). Eliminate species that do not feed on the host plant where you found your caterpillar.
- 10
To make a final identification, compare your picture to the pictures of the remaining caterpillar species in the guide; at this point, there should now be only a few remaining. Your notes on how the caterpillar moved, the number of caterpillars clustered where you found yours, and the presence or absence of a caterpillar tent may come in useful.
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