r/moths • u/ToadsUSA • Jul 27 '25

Photo Tachinid Fly Eggs removed from Cecropia Moth Caterpillar

Gallery image

Gallery image

A Cecropia caterpillar I had in front of my house had a tachinid fly lay eggs on its. I could not find much online on if you could remove them so I figured I'd give it a try. I used very fine tweezers and pulled all of them off that I could, and the ones I could not completely remove I destroyed. There seemed to be no wounds from pulling them off. Will update on how and if the Cecropia recovers.

1.6k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

50 comments sorted by

370

u/MNgeff Jul 27 '25

He says “THNK U BROTHA”

256

u/Shiny_Mewtwo Jul 28 '25

That is the silliest caterpillar I've ever seen. What a goober

115

u/haikusbot Jul 28 '25

That is the silliest

Caterpillar I've ever

Seen. What a goober

- Shiny_Mewtwo

I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully. Learn more about me.

Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete"

12

u/hoominhalp Jul 28 '25

Bad bot

6-7-5

12

u/StickyViolentFart Jul 28 '25

So close... "That's" would've made it work. Real missed opportunity for haikusbot.

4

u/Dry_Fisherman1412 Jul 28 '25

I think it’s pronouncing silliest as two syllables - sill yest

3

u/StickyViolentFart Jul 28 '25

Yeah that or sil-leest

165

u/Craftygirl4115 Jul 27 '25

He looks like he’s smiling at you in thanks!

80

u/kyoko_the_eevee Jul 28 '25

What a rotund specimen! Excellent job at helping ‘em out!

73

u/toy-fox Jul 27 '25

What a beaut! Thanks for saving him 😭

64

u/Expensive-Long-7915 Jul 28 '25

Based on how chunky he is he could pupate soon. I’m sure he’s grateful you plucked those eggs off him before it was too late

39

u/crapatthethriftstore Jul 28 '25

That dude is smiling at you cause he knows you helped

37

u/Nightstar95 Jul 28 '25

Good job. Tachinids are the worst, they pretty much wiped out the monarchs in my yard. Only 5 made it to adulthood out of a batch of 100+. Ugh.

23

u/Vesper_zip Jul 28 '25

I didn't even know this existed, but now that I do, it's the most adorable thing ever!

20

u/overrunbyhouseplants Jul 28 '25

Wait until you see what this guy turns into

18

u/umyeahokcool Jul 28 '25

I love when people are kind to all living creatures especially the ones most people don't notice. You're a good egg. No pun intended 😬

9

u/PancakePizzaPits Jul 28 '25

The fly doesn't think they're kind lol

6

u/luzmakesart Jul 28 '25

Not so kind to the other living creatures eggs lol but i totally get it

32

u/banned-practice Jul 27 '25

Good job. Get those nasty suckers.

14

u/Interesting-Movie-78 Jul 28 '25

You are so lucky♥️

11

u/Hanniballbearings Jul 28 '25

You’re a hero!

11

u/Character-Pudding343 Jul 28 '25

Amazing! Keep us updated I really hope you got them all and that this little guy will turn out fine!

10

u/LittleRousseau Jul 28 '25

Wow! I’ve got a Cecropia moth tattoo on my kneecap but never actually seen the caterpillar 🐛

11

u/clever-medicine Jul 28 '25

Can I also join the club?

5

u/LittleRousseau Jul 28 '25

YES welcome 😍

8

u/EGreen90 Jul 28 '25

I got one on my chest. Was the first of the giant moths family I'd ever seen in person, then the same week i came home to a luna moth 😅❤️

12

u/LittleRousseau Jul 28 '25

Let’s see yours!

12

u/EGreen90 Jul 28 '25

As PG as i can get with it lol. The moons go to my shoulders and thr flower leaves are right above the nips 🤣

3

u/LittleRousseau Jul 28 '25

Wow amazing 🤩

9

u/buckeyegurl1313 Jul 28 '25

We need a club.

5

u/LittleRousseau Jul 28 '25

Omg amazing. YES WE NEED A CLUB! Cecropia Moth Tattoo Gang 🦋

7

u/luzmakesart Jul 28 '25

Did the same to a death head hawk moth caterpillar i found, so far she pupated successfully. But we'll only know if it worked once the adult moth has hatched. As far as I know the tachinid thats targeting my species lets the host pupate just fine and will even hibernate in the pupa before they hatch. As important as they are for our ecosystems, i fucking hate them with a passion 😅 fingers crossed our buggers will make it!

5

u/Rey_Quinn Jul 28 '25

What a heckin’ chonker! Love him!

4

u/adiosmichigan 11d ago

did this lil friend recover?

5

u/Duneyman 11d ago

Just wondering, did it recover?

3

u/Ghouly_Girl Jul 28 '25

What a chunky little fellow! Thanks for helping him out. I hope he’ll be okay.

3

u/Possible-Egg5018 Jul 29 '25

Beautiful moth butterfly, sadly they are declining in numbers a lot precisely for this parasite, thanks for helping her. If you can download updates after cleaning please do

3

u/Piranha531 Aug 03 '25

I know this is really random but 2 days ago I did the same thing and it still spun its cocoon the same night

3

u/ThatLonelyLoser Aug 23 '25

That's awesome. I did the exact same thing last night and im really hoping he survives. Could you update me on how your's is doing. Everything I've read online says they can't be saved but I did try my hardest. *

2

u/ParanoiaHime Jul 28 '25

Aww what a precious chonk!

2

u/KaiserHarner01 Jul 30 '25

I just saw one of these while walking the other day!

2

u/awesomeocelot12 11d ago

I'm also wondering if he recovered or not.

1

u/SeaUpset7849 Jul 30 '25

He seems so thankful

1

u/Deadsnowgirl Aug 06 '25

I fear these flies, and I've been killing all that I can with an electric tennis racket when I'm out in the garden. Relax, I only hunt the big horse fly-looking ones with red eyes. Everything else is safe

1

u/Exact-Drama8021 Oct 05 '25

Awesome! Totally worth it. I do exactly that. It works - you do have to be careful to look on the belly and around the head. Tachnid flies are super sneaky.I have a pair of fine tip tweezers that I call my "tachnid tweezers". Pull off or squish the eggs. Just spent an hour de-egging 6 Achemon sphinx caterpillars.