Author: Mike Dunn
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My, What a Big Rostrum You Have…
Okay, maybe not the best pick-up line, but if the nose fits…This is another strange insect I found this week, a Scorpionfly, (Panorpa sp.). One morning I found two females out back in a small patch of ferns and False Nettles. They were perched atop some leaves and, in what is typical behavior, would allow… Read more…
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Can’t Touch This!
Well, it isn’t really a good idea to touch this, even though I have a few times. This is one of my favorite caterpillars, the Saddleback. It is the larva of an inconspicuous brown moth, Acharia stimulea. The larva is named for the saddle-like pattern (green around the middle “saddle blanket”, with a brown oval… Read more…
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They Grow Up So Fast…
It seems like just yesterday they were just a gleam in their parents multifaceted eyes, and then, before you know it, they are off to pupation college. I reported on some egg-laying of butterflies and moths in recent posts and decided yesterday to go out and look for the young ones out in the garden.… Read more…
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Power Line Patterns
The past few mornings I walked down the power line looking for potential subjects to photograph or something to learn more about. I’m always curious about plants I haven’t seen before or some interesting behavior of an animal. But often it is the simple beauty of something that catches my eye. The low angle light… Read more…
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Chrysalis Camouflage
I blogged last week about the Cloudless Sulphur butterflies I have been seeing down east and in my Piedmont garden lately. I included the photo above of a fresh chrysalis. I have only seen one other chrysalis of this species and it was much more colorful, but the field guides said their color can be… Read more…
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Little Spike
On a short hike through the neighborhood a week ago, I saw a Snowberry Clearwing moth (I posted a blog on these day-flying moths on July 29) hovering near the ground and briefly touching leaves of various plants. This is classic behavior for female moths and butterflies searching for their host plant in order to… Read more…
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This Caterpillar can Whistle!
Last week I found this little guy crawling on the ground outside the screen porch. I picked it up and it thrashed around until I placed it on a nearby hickory sapling. I recognized it as the larva of the Walnut Sphinx Moth from the unusual angled head capsule and the numerous raised spots arranged… Read more…
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Cloudless Sulphur
This time of year I often see a bright, clear flash of yellow in the garden and know it is a wanderer, a Cloudless Sulphur butterfly. On my trip to some refuges down east earlier in the week I saw plenty of these vibrant yellow beauties as they are a common species in the coastal… Read more…
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A Good Day Down East
One of the great things about retirement is the freedom to take advantage of good weather and make a wildlife watching trip on the spur of the moment. Yesterday was one of those days and I spent it in my favorite area in NC – Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. I arrived about 8 a.m.… Read more…
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Is This a ? Egg?
I glanced out the back of the screen porch the other day and saw a butterfly behaving as if it were going to lay eggs – that typical fluttery flight around a plant that indicates she is searching for just the right spot to lay an egg. The butterfly was one of the anglewings –… Read more…
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Roads End Naturalist 