If anyone can tell me what kind of caterpillar this is, and if it’s worth the damage being done to the sunflower leaves at my mother in law’s house, I’ll be eternally grateful. So far they haven’t touched the blossoms, but the leaves are in sad shape and apparently there are many of them.
Thank you in advance! Peace!
It looks a bit like a Gulf fritillary caterpillar, but they feed exclusively on passion vines. I have photos of some on my blog – may want to compare and contrast.
It might be a bordered patch caterpillar — they are orange and black, and feed on sunflowers.
Here are some sites that may be helpful:
http://www.texasento.net/CenTexPlnts.pdf
The Texas Entomologists have a list of butterfly host plants. Scroll down to the Sunflower family and you'll find a list of all the caterpillars that feed on those plants.
http://www.edupic.net/larva.htm
Pictures of all sorts of caterpillars.