Spotting a caterpillar crawling across a leaf or nibbling on a plant in your garden can be alarming at first, especially if it has a distinctly colored head like black. While some caterpillars with warning colors on their bodies may be cause for concern, a black head does not necessarily indicate danger. Many non-toxic caterpillars have black heads, often marked with spots or stripes in more vibrant colors. Learning to identify the most common black-headed caterpillars can help you determine if a particular species poses a threat before taking action.
Why Do Some Caterpillars Have Black Heads?
Many caterpillars have black heads to help camouflage themselves in their natural habitat. The black color blends in amidst the soil and leaf litter where caterpillars live when not feeding. It provides protection from birds and other predators scanning for prey from above.
Some poisonous or “stinging” caterpillars also have black heads as a warning to potential predators. They may combine the black with bright yellows oranges, or reds in striking patterns to stand out. This coloration clearly communicates toxicity and alerts predators to stay away.
12 Common Caterpillars with Black Heads
If you spot a caterpillar with a black head crawling across the ground or munching on garden plants here are 12 possibilities to help identify it
1. Horace’s Duskywing Caterpillar
This blue-green caterpillar has white spots, a dark stripe down its back, and a black head marked with orange spots. It feeds on oak tree leaves and becomes the Horace’s duskywing butterfly after pupating.
2. Wild Indigo Duskywing Caterpillar
Ranging from orange-white when young to light yellow-green when mature, this caterpillar has a black head mottled with orange patches. It eats crown vetch and forms the wild indigo duskywing butterfly.
3. Juvenal’s Duskywing Caterpillar
With a green body covered in white dots and a bold black head, this caterpillar munches on oak leaves before transforming into the juvenal’s duskywing butterfly.
4. Long-Tailed Skipper Caterpillar
Distinguished by its black and maroon head with yellow and orange stripes, this yellow-green caterpillar with a dorsal black stripe becomes the long-tailed skipper butterfly.
5. Silver-Spotted Skipper Caterpillar
This smooth, green-yellow caterpillar has a dark red-brown to black head with a neck collar. It feeds on vines and legumes before becoming a silver-spotted skipper butterfly.
6. Two-Barred Flasher Caterpillar
In its last stage, this caterpillar is black with bright yellow dots and a red to black head. It eats plants in the legume family before forming the two-barred flasher butterfly.
7. Contracted Datana Moth Caterpillar
This black caterpillar has a broad cream stripe down its back and a black head with an orange shield behind it. It munches on trees like oak and hickory before pupating into a moth.
8. Angle-Lined Prominent Caterpillar
Covered in short gray hairs, this light brown caterpillar has a shiny black head. It feeds on various trees and spins a cocoon to become the angle-lined prominent moth.
9. Angus’ Datana Moth Caterpillar
With black bodies and heads, this fuzzy caterpillar has yellow stripes and red legs. It eats walnut leaves before becoming the Angus’ datana moth.
10. Walnut Caterpillar
This black caterpillar with white hairs and a black head mainly feeds on walnut, pecan, and hickory trees, sometimes defoliating them extensively. It forms the walnut caterpillar moth.
11. Spotted Datana Moth Caterpillar
With black and yellow striping, this caterpillar has a solid black head and back end. After eating leaves of oak, hickory, and other trees, it transforms into the spotted datana moth.
12. Laugher Moth Caterpillar
This fuzzy white caterpillar develops a black head as it matures. It makes leaf shelters to dine on birch, maple, and other broadleaf trees before becoming the laugher moth.
What to Do If You Find a Black-Headed Caterpillar
If you spot a black-headed caterpillar munching its way through your garden, don’t panic. Take a close look at its coloring and markings to try and identify it. Consider whether it has hairs or appears fuzzy. While some toxic stinging caterpillars have black heads, many harmless ones do as well.
Ultimately, the best approach is just leaving caterpillars alone and tolerating minor damage. Garden plants usually recover quickly, and caterpillars are an important food source for birds and beneficial insects. But if you need to control an infestation, start with gentle options like removing them by hand or knocking them into buckets of soapy water. Insecticidal soaps, oils, or Bt sprays can also be effective without harming other garden life. With care and observation, you can co-exist with caterpillars, even black-headed ones!
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How to identify caterpillars
A caterpillar is the larval stage of a moth or butterfly. It is the second part of their four-stage life cycle: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Many caterpillars look very different as they grow, so weve described the larger stages of the caterpillars growth when theyre often more obvious. Some are easily spotted on their favourite food plants. Here are some of the species youre likely to see!
When & where: August-June. A variety of habitats including gardens, but especially damp grassland, marshes and boggy areas.
Description: Up to 7 cm long. Dark and covered with brown hairs and golden speckles. A row of white hairs runs down each side of the body.
Drinker moth caterpillar ©Chris Lawrence
Drinker moth caterpillar ©Tom Marshall
Drinker caterpillar © Guy Edwardes/2020VISION
Young drinker caterpillar © Vaughn Matthews
When & where: June-April, most obvious in spring. Often heathland and coastal grassland.
Description: Up to 7 cm long. Hairy, with long dark hairs on the sides of the body and shorter orange hairs on top. Young caterpillars are dark with orange bands.
Fox moth caterpillar ©David Longshaw
Fox moth caterpillar by Tom Hibbert
Fox moth caterpillar by David Longshaw
Early instar fox moth caterpillar © Frank Porch
When & where: August-June. A variety of habitats including grassland, heathland, fens, and hedgerows. Often found crawling across paths in spring.
Description: Young caterpillars in late summer and autumn are small and bluish with orange diamond patterns. More obvious in spring, when caterpillars are large and extremely furry, with long, orange-brown hairs. There are black bands between each body segment, and white dashes on each side.
Oak eggar caterpillar © Tom Hibbert
Oak eggar caterpillar © Frank Porch
Oak eggar caterpillar © Vaughn Matthews
Early instar oak eggar caterpillar © Frank Porch
Early instar oak eggar caterpillar © Frank Porch
When & where: August-June. A wide range of habitats including gardens.
Description: Up to 6 cm long. An extremely hairy caterpillar, known as the “woolly bear”. Mostly black and ginger, with longer white hairs.
Garden tiger caterpillar © Frank Porch
Garden tiger caterpillar ©Amy Lewis
Garden tiger caterpillar © Faye Davies
Garden tiger caterpillar © Brian Eversham
When & where: July-September. Found on ragwort in most grassy habitats.
Description: The caterpillars of this moth are distinctive, with black and yellow stripes – warning predators that they taste terrible. Theyre easily spotted feeding on ragwort.
Cinnabar moth caterpillar ©Andrew Hankinson
Cinnabar caterpillars © Jon Hawkins – Surrey Hills Photography
Cinnabar caterpillar © Niall Benvie/2020VISION
When & where: June-September. A variety of habitats, including gardens. Often where rosebay willowherb is found.
Description: Up to 8.5 cm long. A chunky green or brown caterpillar, with several eyespots at the front end and a spiky tail at the rear.
Elephant hawk-moth caterpillar ©Dawn Monrose
Elephant hawk-moth caterpillar © Tom Hibbert
Elephant hawk-moth caterpillar © Vaughn Matthews
Elephant hawk-moth caterpillar © Tom Hibbert
When & where: July to September. Widespread in southern England and Wales. Found in a variety of habitats, including gardens.
Description: Up to 8.5cm long. Green and chunky, with purple and white stripes on the body and a black and yellow horn on the rear.
Privet hawk-moth caterpillar ©Roy Bedborough
When & where: June to September. Widespread in a variety of habitats, including parks, gardens and wetlands. They feed on poplars and willows.
Description: Recently hatched caterpillars are tiny and black, with two long, whip-like tails. Older caterpillars are plump and green, with a dark, white-edged saddle. The head is surrounded by a pink patch, with false eyes making it look like a giant face. They still have two thin tails. When theyre fully fed and ready to pupate, they turn a purplish colour.
Puss moth caterpillar ©Vaughn Matthews
Puss moth caterpillar © Vaughn Matthews
Puss moth caterpillar © Tom Hibbert
Newly hatched puss moth caterpillars © Frank Porch
When & where: April-July. A range of open habitats, including gardens. Feeds on mulleins and buddleia.
Description: Distinctive whitish caterpillars, with yellow splodges across the body and large black spots.
Mullein caterpillar © Frank Porch
Mullein moth caterpillar ©Chris Lawrence
Mullein caterpillar © Frank Porch
Mullein caterpillar © Frank Porch
When & where: August-June. Scrubby habitats including hedgerows, woodland and gardens.
Description: Black with long, greyish-white hairs. On top it has a pair of red lines, with a row of white blotches either side of them. A red line runs along each side. The hairs can be an irritant.
Yellow-tail moth caterpillar ©Chris Lawrence
Yellow-tail caterpillar © Tom Hibbert
Yellow-tail caterpillar © Tom Hibbert
When & where: August-May. Scrubby habitats, including coastal scrub.
Description: Black with long brown hairs, two red spots on top and a line of white marks along each side. Found in conspicuous communal webs on food plants. The hairs cause skin irritation.
Brown-tail moth caterpillar © Tom Hibbert
Young brown-tail caterpillar © Chris Lawrence
Brown-tail caterpillar © Frank Porch
When & where: June-October. Grasslands, wetlands, heathlands, open woodlands, and coastal habitats.
Description: Black with brown hairs. Row of alternating red spots and lines on top, with a line of white dashes either side. Row of spots and dashes on each side. Rests with slight hunch in the back.
Knot grass caterpillar © Vaughn Matthews
Knot grass caterpillar © Frank Porch
Knot grass caterpillar © Frank Porch
When & where: May-July. Common in a range of habitats where common nettle is present.
Description: Up to 4.5 cm. Black with black spines and small white dots. Found in communal webs on common nettles.
Peacock caterpillar © Margaret Holland
Peacock caterpillars ©Vaughn Matthews
Peacock caterpillars © Jon Hawkins – Surrey Hills Photography
When & where: May-September. Commonly found in a variety of habitats including woodland, parks and gardens.
Description: A funky-looking grey and black caterpillar, with large tufts of hair, including a mohawk of yellow tufts on the back. Large caterpillars can often be spotted in late summer on a range of shrubs and trees.
Vapourer caterpillar © Pete Richman
Vapourer caterpillar © Les Binns
Vapourer moth caterpillar ©Tom Hibbert
When & where: June-October. Found on a wide variety of deciduous trees and other plants, including bramble.
Description: A striking bright green caterpillar, with black bands between its body segments, yellow/whitish hairs, a row of yellow tufts on top and a red tuft at the rear.
Pale tussock caterpillar ©Lizzie Wilberforce
Pale tussock caterpillar © Frank Porch
Pale tussock caterpillar © Frank Porch
Sawflies are a group of flies, whose larvae look very similar to moth and butterfly caterpillars. The larvae are usually 1-4 cm long, but come in an impressive variety of colours. One way to spot a sawfly larva is to count the legs – they also have six true legs, but usually have six or more pairs of the stumpy prologs, whereas caterpillars have five or fewer.
Rose sawfly larvae ©Les Binns
Iris sawfly © Tom Hibbert
Watch This GIANT Ear Blackhead Get Extracted
FAQ
What caterpillars have black heads?
Fruittree leafroller overwinters in the egg stage in irregular masses of 30 to 100 eggs cemented over with a secretion. Young larvae are light green caterpillars with black heads and are first seen at bud break. The mature larva is about an inch long and has a green body and black head.
What are the tiny worms with black heads?
During early development stages, budworm larvae are creme-colored with a distinct black head. Their body color changes to green as they develop and the head capsule is brown during the last development stage (Fig.
What is a brown caterpillar with a black head fuzzy?
Two common species of woollybear caterpillars found in Texas are the saltmarsh caterpillar and the garden tiger moth caterpillar. The saltmarsh caterpillar ranges in color from black to brown to yellowish, while the garden tiger moth caterpillar has a fuzzy black top and brown bottom.
What is a white caterpillar fuzzy with black head?
Hickory tussocks are native insects and are found every year, usually in small numbers. Occasionally the numbers will increase to where they are noticed by the general public. The caterpillars are showy and active during the day so they seem like just the cutest thing to play with.
Do caterpillars have black heads?
If you have been gardening lately or you encountered a caterpillar with a black head when out in the woodland areas, you may wish to identify it. The good news is that black is not a warning color, unlike red or yellow. Many of these caterpillars do have red, yellow, or orange markings on their black heads to deter predators.
What do some black caterpillars have?
Some species of caterpillars are black and fuzzy with hair-like spines. Other common black caterpillars have vibrant orange or yellow markings.
What does a black caterpillar look like?
The caterpillars are yellow-green with a black line that runs down the dorsal side. Their heads are black and maroon with yellow and red-orange side stripes. The black head has a yellow or orange spot, that can be seen on both sides. These caterpillars feed on vine legumes, including beggars ticks, wisteria, hog peanuts, and blue peas.
What is a blackhead caterpillar?
A blackhead caterpillar is a specific species of caterpillar known for its black-dotted appearance. These caterpillars are found in Southern and Southeastern US territories and use different types of oak trees as host trees.
When do caterpillars develop black hairs?
Caterpillars of this species begin life as pearl-white spherical eggs. They have a cream-white color in the first instar while black hairs start to develop in later instars. The species is only characterized by black body sections in later instars.
Which caterpillars have short hairs on their head?
All morphs of the Eastern Comma Caterpillar have short hairs on the head. Various species of nettle are the host of these caterpillars. In the absence of nettle, it moves on to elm or hemp. 16. Mourning Cloak Caterpillar These types of caterpillars (Nymphalis antiopa) are dominated by black colors, much like the adult butterfly.