Sandy, great minds think alike. I actually found wormspit while looking for something else. I emailed back and forth with the guy for a while. I was going to buy something from him. I like to buy from artisans. Unfortunatly, it was pretty expensive. $10 an inch for regular silkworm silk. He didn't think he had enough of cecropia silk to weave anything. We are trying to collect enough giant silkmoth silk at the house to do a program on it this summer. Maybe I will try weaving something myself. With my skill level it will probably look like one of those pot holders I made at camp when I was seven. -Elisabeth

Vanessa cardui larvae often have highly varied traits, but I agree that is what these are. Echinops is a proven larval food plant for V. cardi, so their being found using this plant is no surprise. As the most general feeder of the NA Vanessa complex this species uses many plants that the others species in the complex do not (as far as we know so far anyway). ;) Another nice find. Larry

Oh I love a challenge! Right now I am wrestling with False Boneset. If you want a real head scratcher, look that up! Anyhow, my gut is telling me Fall Webworm (Hyphantria cuea). These guys are so variable. Also, depending on the angle the picture is taken at, it can look different. Look at some pictures on the web like Bugguide. Some look close to your guy/gal some completely different. One common characteristic is the very long hairs. Another possibility is the salt marsh moth(Estigmene acrea)but I think the hairs, while long, are not quite as long as on a fall webworm. Any other guesses? Miss Sherry will get it in one! -Elisabeth Here is a link that might be useful: Bugguide Fall Webworm

GG recommended Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki yesterday, and that was a great suggestion. Research it and you'll find out why! But don't sit around and wait.....Bt. products need to be applied while the caterpillars are babies. You could also try spraying with a strongish spray from the hose....just plain water to knock them off.