The little assassin bug nymph in the post below doesn't really stand a chance of having much of an impact on our population of Walnut Caterpillar Moth caterpillars (Datana integerrima). Every year about this time, the caterpillars strip a few branches on our black walnut trees, but they don't do any real damage to the trees, so I just let them eat.
The caterpillars start out tiny, reddish-brown and virtually hairless. As they eat the caterpillars grow rapidly, darken to black and get very hairy.
Photo of adult moth from BugGuide.
(This photo was taken about ten hours after the one above.)
