These caterpillars were everywhere in Victoria on Saturday - they seemed to be falling from the sky. I believe it is the larva of a Lasiocampid, Malacosoma californicum (blue pigmentation is rare in caterpillars and apparently characteristic of Malacosoma), which I suppose might be termed the 'California Lackey'. Here it is known as the Western tent Caterpillar though; it spends its early instars gregariously in large tented colonies spun amongst the branches of broadleaved trees. At maturity the caterpillars 'become solitary' and wander off in search of pupation sites. This is presumably what the numerous pavement and parking lot specimens we saw, often far from vegetation, were doing. This individual wandered onto Zsofi's clothing, which did not please her, but provided me with an opportunity to carry it off and surreptitiously photograph it.
useful websites:
Caterpillars of Pacific Northwest Forests and Woodlands by Jeffrey C. Miller (USGS site)
Butterflies and Moths of Southern Vancouver Island by Jeremy B. Tatum
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