Tis the Season for Caterpillars! (April 5th, 2013)

I noticed this guy booking it across my patio last week (he's got some spider webs on him, hence the "fuzzy" appearance). I've seen several of these guys around San Diego lately. Must be the time of year for these guys to begin forming cocoons. They have black spikes, protruding from red splotches on a black body. This caterpillar will metamorphose into the Chalcedon Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas chalcedona). This species is common in southern California, especially the foothills and chaparral. They love to eat monkey flower, which is blooming all over right now. 

This is what he'll look like when he pops out of his cocoon (not my pic).

• Links:
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_Checkerspot
• http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Euphydryas-chalcedona
• http://tmousecmouse.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html
• http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/lepidopt/nymph/chalcedo.htm