Article: Caterpillars have many different forms, but most of the ones you’ll see crawling around in the wild will have the same general shape. Beware that it’s easy to get caterpillars confused with worms, so look for the small segments on the body to tell the insects apart. There are many different species of caterpillar, and they can range in length and width. All caterpillars will have the same body parts. Look for a head, which will have a pair of jaws for eating plants, a thorax, which contains most of the caterpillar’s legs, and a long abdomen, which can also have a few sets of legs. If you’re having trouble identifying these parts, look at the caterpillar under a magnifying glass for a closer view. If you’re not sure whether you’re looking at a caterpillar, check by counting the insect’s legs. There should be 3 sets of 2, or 6 total legs, on the thorax, which is right behind the head. Look for up to 4 extra sets of legs at the middle and end of the caterpillar’s abdomen. The caterpillar will sometimes lose the legs on its abdomen before forming a cocoon, so it’s best to rely on the thorax legs to confirm whether an insect is a caterpillar or not. Usually, caterpillars will live near or on the plants that they eat. When you find a caterpillar, try to identify the plants around it, and observe as it eats the leaves, flowers, or even fruit in its habitat. These can give you a better idea of what species of caterpillar you’re looking at.  For example, Monarch butterfly caterpillars tend to live on and eat milkweed. In contrast, centipedes, millipedes, and worms tend to live in the dirt, under rocks, or in rotting wood.
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Look for an insect with a long, tube-shaped body in small, rounded segments. Identify the 3 major segments of the caterpillar’s body. Count the number of legs on the thorax. Watch the insect to see where it lives and what it’s eating.