Nevermind, I think I found it! Florida Predatory Stink Bug, Euthyrhynchus floridanus But for anyone else that has these guys around~ Âconsidered a beneficial insect because most of its prey consists of plant-damaging bugs, beetles, and caterpillars. Another welcome garden friend! Here is a link that might be useful: Florida Predatory Stink Bug

Beautiful shot Sherry. I am happy that you had a GF laying eggs. I have yet to see one in my yard. I am checking my Passionvine daily. Last fall, I think I released like 50 adult Gulf Fits. I am not seeing any big butterflies other than Tigers. The 2 Spicebush cats I raised earlier both eclosed within a couple of weeks, but good old Zebra #4 is still inside its chrysalis. I moved it outside a good while back thinking that would surely do the trick, but no. I did see a big yellow Tiger swooping into the leaves on my Weeping Cherry a week or so ago, and it did seem to be laying eggs. It was up high, and I will get the ladder out and look, but it will be like finding a needle in a haystack I think. Angie

The 'stick ups' are called scoli. I've never read anything that gives a reason for them being there, so I assume it's just to make the caterpillar appear ferocious so as to scare away predators. They're harmless to people, don't sting, and I've seen many pictures of people holding the late instar caterpillars in their hands, kids included. Each instar of this species is different from the others. The scoli are much taller in relation to overall body size in the early instars than they are in the later instars. In the later instars, their body gets thick, and the scoli point backward. There are many pictures of them on the internet, but I'll be posting pictures of each instar, since they're so unique. The adults are beautiful. Since they only have one flight per year, I won't see the adult moth until next year. I'll have to provide these with a bucket of leaves or paper towels for them to burrow into when they're ready to make their pupa. I'll keep them on the porch unless we have an extremely cold night (like the one last January) and then I'll bring them into my unheated guest room. I'm getting ahead of myself here, though. They're not the easiest ones to raise, so I don't want to jinx things by talking about their pupae just yet! :) Sherry

I think you have Florida Predatory Stink Bug nymphs . Here is what IFAS says , The predatory stink bug, Euthyrhynchus floridanus (Linnaeus), is considered a beneficial insect because most of its prey consists of plant-damaging bugs, beetles, and caterpillars. This stink bug is primarily a Neotropical species that ranges into southeastern quarter of the United States. It seldom plays more than a minor role in the natural control of insects in Florida, but its prey includes such economic species as southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (Linnaeus); orangedog, Papilio cresphontes Cramer; velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner; Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say); Diaprepes root weevil, Diaprepes abbreviatus (Linnaeus), and others. In the posted photo , yours may have just emerged from molting and appear lighter color than in this link . Here is a link that might be useful: Florida Predatory Stink Bug (unofficial common name)