Tootfinder

#darwin #evolution

Fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria). If you have a moment to enlarge the image, check out the reduced 3rd proleg on the left-hand side of the loop, toward the bottom. Most lineages of the Geometridae have lost this A5 proleg completely, so this is very useful for identification. Fast-moving, arboreal caterpillars tend to have reduced numbers of prolegs. The standard in Lepidoptera is 5 pairs. #caterpillar #geometridae #inchworm #moth #lepidoptera #insects #nature #prolegs #evolution #nature