The “Hello Kitty” Caterpillar
This is the Chinese Bush Brown butterfly (Mycalesis gotama) in its larval (caterpillar) state. To the world’s delight, it looks remarkably like the famous Japanese cartoon cat Hello Kitty with little bumps resembling ears and an incredible design of a cat-shaped face. These cute caterpillars are quite a hit in Japan and are referred to as “hellokittipillars”. But don’t go hugging them too tightly.