A reader noticed some green “worms” on his front door frame and in the entryway to his house. He wants to know what they are, how to get rid of them, and if they will travel to other rooms of the house. These are not worms, they are caterpillars!

Caterpillars are larvae of moths and butterflies. There are thousands of species of moths and butterflies, and so there are also thousands of species of caterpillars. To be exact, there are over 20,000 known species worldwide! Some caterpillars have distinct markings which make them easier to identify. All we can deduce from the photo of these caterpillars is that they are light green.

We don’t know exactly which type of caterpillars these are, but we think they may be Prominent caterpillars, belonging to the Notodontidae family. Three different species closely resemble the green larvae our reader found: the Whited-Dotted prominent caterpillar, the Angulose Prominent caterpillar, and the Oval-Based prominent caterpillar. While any of these could be a match, it is almost impossible to distinguish. As we mentioned before, there are thousands of species of caterpillars and many of them look and act almost identically. The White-Dotted prominent caterpillar, The Anuglose prominent caterpillar, and the Oval-Based prominent caterpillar are all found across North America and feed on Oak trees. There is also the possibility that the caterpillars aren’t any of these three and are another species entirely.

We don’t know why these caterpillars are in our reader’s home. Most caterpillars feed on leaves and fruit, not on household materials. We don’t think it is likely that the larvae will continue to wander through his home. We think he should place the caterpillars back outside and focus on preventing further entry attempts. He should make sure his door is properly sealed and screened when open. Also, he can sweep up his front stoop to eliminate potential food sources for these green larvae.

In summary, one of our readers discovered a bunch of green caterpillars in the entrance to his home. We aren’t positive on what species he found, as there are many caterpillars that are nearly identical to the ones in the photo.

 

 

 

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