Wisconsin Native Caterpillars
Dainty Sulphur Caterpillar
Genus-Species: Nathalis iole
Description: Green with thin yellow stripes.
Sometimes rosy-purple stripes are present.
Chrysalis: Small and green. Head is rounded
rather than pointed.
Host Plants: Low-growing plants in the aster
family (Asteraceae) especially shepherd's needle (Bidens pilosa), sneezeweed (Helenium),
fetid marigold (Dyssodia), and cultivated marigold (Tagetes).
Habitat: Open, dry places including coastal
flats, weedy fields, grasslands, road edges, meadows, and hillsides.
Comments: Caterpillar ranges up to 5/-inch,
dark green with purple stripes on its back, and parallel black and yellow stripes on
the side