SUPER FURRY ANIMAL

It's furry, tentacled and slides slowly over leaves. So... what the heck is it?

- PETER DAVID SCOTT

THE MONKEY SLUG IS NOT SOME experimental genetic monstrosity. But even if you see one in the flesh, you may still be unclear what this odd, brown hairy thing is, with its array of fuzzy tentacles. It moves over the surface of leaves with what can only be described as a lurching glide.

It’s neither a monkey nor a slug, of course. This is Phobetron pithecium and it is the caterpillar of the hag moth, native to North America. The species belongs to the Limacodidae, a global family of moths that are collectively called cup moths or slug moths, depending on which part of the world you are in. The former refers to their cocoons, the latter to their unusual gait.

Think of a caterpillar and you'll probably picture a larva with six ‘true’ legs up front, coupled with varying numbers of simple organs called prolegs at the back. Prolegs are fleshy, gripping organs, each crowned with a fringe of hooked hairs called crochets.