What is this creature?

[SpookyShoe]

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[Growing Coastal]

It's a psychedelic something or other. Lovely pattern. I hope it's a friendly.

[SpookyShoe]

It looks like it might be some kind of tent caterpillar. Maybe a forest tent caterpillar??

[SpookyShoe]

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How about this one, on rosemary?

[worth1]

Winston Churchill

[MissS]

Your first photo is a Forest Tent Caterpillar aka a Gypsy Moth. They sometimes stick together and travel in herds. Common throughout the USA and not necessarily one of the good ones. In groups they can seriously defoliate a tree.

[arnorrian]

Isn't the gypsy moth caterpillar more spiky?

[Nan6b]

American gypsy moth versus European gypsy moth?

[arnorrian]

According to Wikipedia forest tent caterpillar moth and gypsy moth are separate species. Gypsy moth is European in origin, and invasive in America. It's a horrible pest, destroying whole forests. There used to be work actions here when it goes wild. And is dangerous to humans too, and must not be touched.

[Nan6b]

Tent caterpillars can be handled with impunity. I used to play with them as a kid.

[SpookyShoe]

I did some research and I'm pretty sure the green one is a Speckled Green Fruitworm.

[Setec Astronomy]

We went through a gypsy moth crisis here in NJ about 40 years ago, then it petered out (there was a pretty big regional effort to rein them in). Also 20-25 years ago we used to have horrible tent caterpillar problems where I work, I remember bringing in some BT from home and spraying. That seems to have gone away also...maybe the trees they liked just died from being defoliated, LOL.

[worth1]

I had the web worms or tent caterpillar problem on a Texas Mountain laurel and used raid on them.
Worked like a charm.
As soon as the mist hit them you would have thought someone turned on rockabilly music and the dance began.

[Setec Astronomy]

We went through a gypsy moth crisis here in NJ about 40 years ago, then it petered out (there was a pretty big regional effort to rein them in). Also 20-25 years ago we used to have horrible tent caterpillar problems where I work, I remember bringing in some BT from home and spraying. That seems to have gone away also...maybe the trees they liked just died from being defoliated, LOL.

[SpookyShoe]

This lizard is black!

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[bower]

Lizard may take care of those caterpillars? That first one is so pretty... I always think the pretty caterpillars are the butterfiies but I guess not.
That big green one reminds me of the swallowtail. But missing the necktie and fake eyes.

[SpookyShoe]

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Almost overnight many holes appeared on my Snow White tomato plant leaves.

[worth1]

Army worms looks like to me.

[karstopography]

[mention]SpookyShoe[/mention] I’ve been picking those very worms off my tomatoes, Roma and Top Gun especially. Those are sort of the mid sized ones, they get bigger.

[karstopography]

[mention]SpookyShoe[/mention] I’ve been picking those very worms off my tomatoes, Roma and Top Gun especially. Those are sort of the mid sized ones, they get bigger.

That black lizard above is a Brown Anole, an invader from Florida. I’ve recently noticed them in my garden, don’t really know how long they have been around. Florida isn’t even the native range of the Brown Anole, I read Cuba and the West Indies is the original home. But, wherever they are from, they are displacing our local Green Anoles.