They come in many different colors, from yellow to green to brightly colored. Many of the dazzling caterpillars later become beautiful or inconspicuous butterflies and moth species. The list below will help determine the species of caterpillars.
Table of Contents
Green Caterpillars
A green caterpillar can usually be either a butterfly or a moth. The green specimens are the ones that are felt to be the most common in nature. But this is also due to the fact that it is often not so easy to distinguish them from the yellow ones and that the green color also occurs in many colorful caterpillars:
Evening Peacock (Smerinthus ocellata)
- blue-green or yellow-green
- 80 Millimeter
- small white dots all over the body
- striking yellow side stripes
- Anal horn light blue
- back lighter colour
- Similarity to poplar moth
- Life time from July to September
Aurorafalter (Anthocharis cardamines)
- Upper side blue-green
- iridescent white on the sides
- Underside dark green
- 30 Millimeter
- Lifetime from May to June
Iridescent Copper Butterfly (Lycaena Helle)
- first white to grey, later light green
- short, fine hair
- Diet predominantly snake knotweed
- Life time from June to August
- pupae hibernate
Small Meadow Bird (Coenonympha pamphilus)
- 18 Millimeters long
- light green
- dark longitudinal line along back
- with a light hem
- each side a white line
- small pink tip on abdomen
- two generations
- different rates of development of individual animals
- lifetime over the summer
- prefers sweet grasses
Kohlweißling (Pieris brassicae)
- green-yellow color
- dotted with black speckles and spots
- short hair
- about 40 millimeters long
- first holes in leaves
- thereafter leaves completely skeletonized
- inedible for predators
- contain isothiocyanates
- no danger to humans
- two to four generations a year
Segelfalter (Iphiclides podalirius)
- black-grey after hatching
- green color after the first moult
- remain green until pupation
- yellow, thin stripes on the sides
- stocky body
- 40 Millimeters long
- lifetime in early summer
Checkerboard (Melanargia galathea)
- only 28 millimeters
- mostly green, sometimes grey-brown or yellow
- always light brown head
- dark long line on the back
- light/dark side stripes
- Abdomen two reddish tips
- Lifetime from July to August
- preferred food are grasses
Schwalbenschwanz (Papilio machaon)
- very noticeable and distinctive
- light green color
- orange black spots
- applied in lines across the body
- about 8 millimeters
- young caterpillar has a white spot in the middle of the back
- Specimens only appear singly
- therefore not a pest
- preferred food umbellifers
Schwarzkolbiger Braun-Dickkopffalter (Thymelicus lineola)
- about 21 millimeters long
- light green
- dark bordered light stripe on back
- a light stripe on each side
- brown top of head with two stripes in yellow
- Underside of head green
- preferred food sweet grasses
- Lifetime from spring to June
Zitronenfalter (Gonepteryx rhamni)
- dull green color
- weaker on the sides
- matt white longitudinal stripes above feet
- should serve as camouflage against predators
- sit mostly on the midrib of the leaves
- often not visible to the naked eye
- Lifetime from May to June
Yellow caterpillars
The yellow specimens often do not differ so much in color from the green ones. Because the yellow ones can often be seen as light green depending on the incidence of light. They can also have spots on the body and are thus included in the list of colorful caterpillars:
Dromedary Toothspinner (Notodonta dromedarius)
- 38 Millimeter
- top yellow
- pages olive
- Color runs down to light yellowish
- has several pointed bumps on the back
- bordered reddish brown and white
- as well as three red stripes on back
- shortly before pupation without bumps and colors
- Lifetime from June to September in two generations
- prefers birch, poplar, alder, willow or hazel
Totenkopfschwärmer (Acherontia atropos)
- with 12 to 13 centimeters very large caterpillar
- green-yellow body
- rarely also green-orange
- light yellow color immediately after hatching
- slightly hairy
- spinous tubercles
- Anal horn is black
- feed on nightshades
- Pest on potato fields or tomato crops
Black caterpillar species
The black caterpillar species don’t do well in a group of just one color. Because the caterpillars with the black basic color usually have many colorful dots or stripes, so they belong more in the list of colorful caterpillars:
Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
- about 40 millimeters
- thorny body
- grey-brown to black
- yellow-green spots on side
- not every caterpillar has the spots
- Head black, sometimes brown
- preferred diet large nettle
- not a pest even if it occurs in swarms
- up to three generations a year
Lesser Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)
- up to 30 millimeters long
- black with white spots
- with yellow lateral lines
- purplish brown on abdomen
- often with red markings
- yellow or black spines on back and sides
- black head
- two generations
- preferred food large nettles
Colorful caterpillars
The colorful specimens can usually be assigned more easily due to their different colors. Nevertheless, it is often not easy not to assign the colorful specimens to just one color. Because they often have a certain basic color such as black or green with many colorful details. But this is exactly what distinguishes them from the other specimens and determining the species is easier:
Blaukopf (Diloba caeruleocephala)
- after hatching brown with long bristles
- in the second stage
- black body with yellow stripes on back
- cream colored head with two black stripes
- in the third stage
- blue-grey with yellow bands
- Head also grey-blue with two black spots
- last stage
- green to blue ground color with yellow spots
Braunwurz-Mönch (Shargacucullia scrophulariae)
- up to 50 mm long
- Basic color yellow, green or bluish white
- yellow backline from resolved points
- many black spots
- yellow head with black dots
- Life time from June to August
- do not feed only on leaves
- also of buds and flowers
- figwort or mullein species are preferred
Erbseneule (Ceramic floor)
- green or red-brown ground colour
- thick yellow stripes on the sides and the secondary back
- yellowish brown or yellowish green head
- up to 45 millimeters long
- can become pests in the garden
Cucullia verbasci
- Body either white, yellow-white or green-white
- adjacent horizontal yellow stripes
- black spots on back and sides
- few thin hairs
- large yellow head with black spots
- preferred diet all mullein species
Möndcheneule (Calophasia lunula)
- white to yellow ground
- two black lines on the upper sides
- below the stripes many black dots
- about 14 millimeters
- two to three overlapping generations
Ruddy kitty-owl (Orthosia (Monima) miniosa)
- grey-blue body
- yellow stripes
- black spots and point warts
- black head
- Lifetime from May to June
- always found in groups
Gooseberry moth (Abraxas grossulariata)
- Color very variable
- just like the moths that hatched later
- often pale yellow with many spots in black
- wide red-orange line on the sides
- glossy black head
- up to 32 millimeters
- feeds on the leaves of various berry bushes
- Caterpillars are nocturnal
- Life time from June to August
frequently asked Questions
Many caterpillars are similar, especially the green and yellow caterpillars are often difficult to identify. Therefore, you have to pay close attention to the different characteristics of the species if you want to find caterpillars in your garden and identify them.
If the animals are quite similar in color and pattern, then you can always check the hair as well. Some caterpillar species are completely smooth, while others are hairy over a large area. This can be short hair, but also long tufts. In addition to the colors, this is also a good feature for identifying the individual species.
There are different types that can be dangerous for us humans or for plants. These include the oak process moth, which can cause skin irritation and breathing problems when you’re near a nest. The box tree moth, on the other hand, destroys entire hedges. Not only are you allowed to fight these caterpillars, you have to fight them. You can carefully collect all the others in the garden and put them back in a suitable place so that the butterflies can develop from them.
In addition to the colors and appearance, this is also a good way to at least narrow down the individual caterpillar species. Because many have specialized in individual plants for nutrition. But there are also caterpillar species that can be found on the plants that are available to them in the area.
The green specimens are usually only recognized or seen when feeding damage can already be seen on the leaves of the plants and crops. Because the animals can hide better because of their color than, for example, the colorful ones.
