Click below to see the answer to this weeks’ quiz
Correct! The one on the left is the Viceroy!
And Sharon correctly guessed that the second caterpillar was a Red-Spotted Purple.
Both of these caterpillars use a common insect camouflage technique of resembling something unappetizing - in this case, bird poop. The horns and bird poop mimicry are signature characteristics that identify caterpillars of the Limenitis genus.
You can read more about bird poop mimicking caterpillars here.
Viceroy and Red-Spotted Purple/White Admiral can be difficult to identify because the two species occasionally interbreed where their ranges overlap. There has even been one spotted in Montpelier!
Viceroy caterpillar by Bruce Cook (iNaturalist)
Red-spotted Purple caterpillar by jlgoch (iNaturalist)
Ready for your next challenge? Check out the Week 7 quiz here!