Butterfly Courtship

Posted on March 21, 2020 by roadsendnaturalist

My scientific life has been spent describing the interactions that occur when butterflies meet and trying to understand what is going on and why…I persist in following butterflies with stopwatch and notepad.

~Ronald L. Rutowski, North American Butterfly Association

Yesterday’s sunshine (why can’t we seem to have at least two days in a row of that here lately?) brought out the invertebrates in the yard. I looked out the window at one point and saw a fluttering small white butterfly checking out the Hairy Bittercress weeds in the front yard. It was a female Falcate Orangetip (Anthocharis midea), and those weeds, members of the mustard family, are one of her host plants. These tiny butterflies are one of the sure signs of spring as they fly for only a couple of weeks early each year, looking for members of the mustard family on which to lay their eggs.

The distinctive developing seed pods of the common yard weed, Hairy Bittercress, Cardamine hirsuta (click photos to enlarge)

I grabbed my camera and by the time I got outside I saw another butterfly, this one with orange wing tips (a male Falcate Orangetip), pursuing the female. What followed was 3 minutes of intense butterfly behavior (and burst mode shooting on my part). The male’s flight pattern was rapid and erratic and he would dive in and briefly flutter near her before darting off and circling back.

Falcate orangetip butterflies mating behavior 2

Male Falcate Orangetip (with orange wing tips) fluttering near female perched on one of her host plants.

Falcate orangetip butterflies mating behavior

The female maintained an abdomen up position the entire time.

Falcate orangetip butterflies mating behavior 1

It seems as though the male’s efforts were unsuccessful as he eventually flew off and she continued patrolling the yard for bittercress.

I have seen this abdomen up behavior before when watching Falcate Orangetips. I have always assumed it was the response of a female that is not interested in the male’s attention. But, some research on a closely related European species shows that both receptive virgin females and non-receptive, previously mated females, show this raised abdomen behavior when a courting male comes a calling. The difference may lie in what chemical compounds the female is releasing when the male gets close. In one case, it may be an attractant pheromone. In the already mated females, it is believed to be a repellent.

A single tiny egg on the flower of the host plant.

After the male departed, I tried following the female around the yard to see if she was going to lay an egg, but she eventually wandered off through the woods. I went back to the original plant I had seen her land on and began to search it for an egg. I finally found one – a tiny sculpted egg, laid at the base of a flower, just where the online references had said it would be. She supposedly deposits a pheromone on the egg that keeps other females from laying an egg on that same plant as the larvae are known to be cannibalistic. Now I want to try keep track of it as the larvae (and especially the thorn-like chrysalis) are extremely hard to find. The things you can do in self-isolation…

For more on the behavior of butterflies and their mating habits, check out this article, When Butterflies Meet, from the North American Butterfly Association.

Mason Farm Meander

Posted on March 20, 2020 by roadsendnaturalist

No one who loves the woods stays on the path.

~Millie Florence

Last Sunday, we wandered over to one of my favorite local spots, Mason Farm Biological Reserve, part of the North Carolina Botanical Garden. Given to the University in 1894 by Mary Elizabeth Morgan Mason, the 367-acre tract consists of a number of Piedmont habitats from bottomland hardwood forests to old fields. This variety makes for a great diversity of plants and animals. We started off on the 2+ mile loop trail and then cut into the woods to look for a red-headed woodpecker we heard. Once we entered the woods, we started seeing Spring Beauties everywhere. So, we just sauntered through the large tract of woods looking for anything we might find. I’m hoping my former co-workers at the Garden aren’t upset for me posting about being off trail, but we didn’t tromp through the meadows where I know they are reintroducing several species of wildflowers to compliment their mowing and prescribed burning efforts. And, in these crazy times, a little distance from the other trail users isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as you are respectful of the forest inhabitants.

Violets and Spring Beauties growing against a tree trunk (click photos to enlarge)

A pair of Spring Beauties showing the difference in age of the flowers – the one on the left is younger since you can see the stamens loaded with pink pollen; the one on the right has the three-part pistil showing and the stamens have laid back against the petals to lessen the chances of self-fertilization.

A pleasant surprise was finding many clumps of Atamasco Lily throughout the forest floodplain.

Devil’s Urn or Black Tulip (Urnula craterium)

A clump of Devil’s Urn (aka Black Tulip) fungi, Urnula craterium.

I noticed some interesting looking fungi along the edges of a branch lying on the ground. I remember seeing these in a recent FB post from Southern Piedmont Natural History (check out their free ebook here).

Devil’s Urn or Black Tulip (Urnula craterium) closeup

A closer view of Devil’s Urn fungi. As they mature, they get the scalloped edge.

This species typically is one of the earliest spring mushrooms and is usually found growing along the edge of fallen logs or branches (like we found them). When I looked online, I discovered a pretty cool fact about these unusual fungi – they hiss! Apparently, if you blow on them, they will release a cloud of spores and in doing so, make a hissing sound. Now I want to find some more and test this out (yup, our lives are pretty exciting).

A beautiful female Marbled Salamander. They always seem to be smiling.

As we crossed back to the other side of the loop trail, I turned over a few logs looking for the salamanders that frequent this area. Melissa got lucky and found a beautiful female (they tend to have grayish blotches and males are usually white) under a rock. We admired her for a second, put the rock back in place, and gently laid her down alongside it, and she crawled back underneath. About then, our friend, Mary, was coming up the trail, camera in hand. She is an excellent naturalist and photographer, and gave us an update on some of the birds she has been seeing. We went looking for a barred owl she sees frequently, but had no luck. But, given how things are, I think we will have ample time for another visit to check things out. Here’s hoping you all can get out and enjoy your surroundings…stay safe.

How Much Wood Could a Wood Beetle Chew, If…

Posted on March 18, 2020 by roadsendnaturalist

The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.

~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Last week I cut and split some firewood from a hickory that fell across the road in the storms of October, 2018. The wood has been stored under a tarp (with sides exposed) since that time. When I pulled the tarp off to start cutting, I immediately noticed the many piles of sawdust from the activities of wood-boring beetles.

Sawdust on the hickory wood pile (click photos to enlarge)

I have often encountered the grubs of beetles while splitting wood, but I soon realized this was an exceptional concentration of these guys in this pile.

A split log reveals the source of the sawdust – galleries from the chewing of wood-boring beetle larvae.

The excavators – the fathead grubs of a long-horned beetle were falling out as I split the hickory logs.

As I was chopping this wood, I had a whole new respect for the chewing abilities of these larvae. I mean, hickory has a well-deserved reputation as a very hard hardwood (hence its common use for tool handles, etc.), and on several swings of the maul it seemed like I was trying to split petrified wood. And yet these 1/2 to 3/4 inch grubs had tunneled through it like it was cream cheese.

Pupa of a long-horned beetle in a chamber in the wood.

Several long-horned beetle pupae that were exposed as I split wood.

This species of long-horned beetle emerges in early spring, so these pupae are almost ready. After mating, a female will lay up to 50 eggs (that explains the abundance in my logs) in the bark of weakened wood or wood that has been dead for no more than a year. Hatched larvae chew into the wood and feed for 10-12 weeks before making a larger chamber for pupating, where they will remain until the following spring.

One beetle started slowly crawling after it dropped out of a split log (I don’t think it was quite ready to be out in the world). It is a Hickory Borer (aka Painted Hickory Borer), Megacyllene caryae. This species closely resembles the Locust Borer Beetle, and both are considered wasp mimics due to their appearance (but they are harmless).

The freshly cut and split firewood. The dark spots visible on some log ends are the long-horned beetle galleries.

I admit to feeling a little guilty about dislodging all these beetle larvae and pupae but I think the Carolina wrens are quite happy about my wood chopping endeavors. But, I think there will be plenty of survivors in the remaining stack of logs to continue their boring behavior this spring. Seeing this community of critters in the wood and then feeling the warmth of the fire from these logs serves as a vivid reminder of the lasting legacy of a single tree. I look out the window and see so many stories in the forest…

Waiting for Warmth

Posted on March 17, 2020 by roadsendnaturalist

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

~Ralph waldo Emerson

These are interesting times for sure and we are all going to need a large dose of patience to get us through to the other side. Melissa and I are lucky to live in a place where it is easy to be socially distant and yet have the beauty of nature just outside our window. I know that is not the case for everyone. But, wherever you live, there is a bit of nature close by…birds singing or flying overhead, yard weeds growing in your garden or cracks in the sidewalk, a greenway or local park, or a schoolyard or church cemetery. Nature has some claim in the most surprising places. So, to help myself through this time of self-isolation, and maybe to encourage others to spend more time in the healing presence of nature, I am going to try to post observations more frequently these next few weeks (ideally every day, but at least 4 or 5 times a week). I think most will be rather short with a single topic and only a few photos. It would be great if environmental educators and other nature-lovers would post informative and fun nature stories that can share the wonders around us and maybe even be of some use to teachers and students that are looking for ways to integrate natural science into their disrupted class schedules. I wish I could produce some simple videos of natural moments, but I worry that our incredibly limited internet here in the woods will be a limiting factor (but I may try anyway).

So, here is something we discovered over the weekend while working in the yard. We are building some new garden beds for herbs and wildflowers and Melissa was rearranging some rocks to make a new tiered bed. She picked up a smallish, moss-covered rock and started to move it a few feet away and discovered a beautiful surprise…

This rock turned out to have a nice surprise underneath (click photos to enlarge)

It was a juvenile Five-lined Skink (Eumeces fasciatus) curled up waiting for winter to finally be over. Reptiles are not true hibernators, but go through a state of inactivity or torpor known as brumation during periods of cold weather. In our area, you may see these and other lizards (or snakes) out on warm winter days and then disappear again with the return of cold temperatures. This species typically becomes active in late March or earl April here in the Piedmont, so this little guy doesn’t have to hide much longer.

A juvenile five-lined skink waiting for the warmth to return

I have to admit that I find it difficult to distinguish between the three species of blue-tailed skinks in our area (Five-lined Skink, Southeastern Five-lined Skink, and Broadhead Skink). Herpetologists can often do it by sight alone, but the best way is to do scale counts around the jaw and/or underneath the tail. I didn’t want to disturb this one to look under its tail (how rude), but I think it is a Five-lined Skink as I can only count 5 lateral lines down the body (the other two species have 7), and this habitat is not particularly dry (the Southeastern Five-lined prefers sandy habitats). As always, if someone out there knows for sure, please drop me a note. Oh, and in case you were wondering, we postponed our rock movements until warmer weather and very gently replaced this one.

Oh Yeah, It Must Be Spring

Posted on March 4, 2020 by roadsendnaturalist

The incredible but annually commonplace change that is life eternally renewed has begun to stir.

~Hal Borland

My last post dealt with the rapid changes in weather from the first spring wildflowers in our yard to the switch to bitter cold and time for chopping more firewood. The vagaries of “spring” weather really hit home when I went to visit my mother over the weekend and it snowed two inches overnight. Back at home earlier this week, I looked out the window and saw butterflies! I actually saw my first butterfly of the season last week, but didn’t manage to get out to get a photo before it disappeared. Tuesday, it was the same species, and not just one, but two, American Snout butterflies, flitting about the yard interacting, resting, and nectaring at one of the few flowers to be found, the diminutive yellow blossoms of Northern Spicebush.

American Snout butterfly, Libytheana carinenta (click photos to enlarge)

This is one of my favorite, and certainly one of the more bizarre, local butterflies. I don’t remember seeing them before as my first butterfly of the season, and here were two chasing each other around. After a brief bout, they separated with one going to spicebush flowers, the other settling on a post in the garden. I grabbed the camera and went out to try to document the event, but, at first, they were having none of it and were difficult to approach. That surprised me a bit as I have described this species to folks as “the friendliest butterfly” around. They have a habit of landing on people to imbibe our salty sweat and being somewhat fearless in doing so. I have had this happen several times in places where they congregate at puddles or other moist soil sites to gather minerals.

The common name comes from the enlarged labial palps, which give the appearance of a long snout.

I finally positioned myself and stood still, waiting for one to return to the tiny yellow flowers. That paid off and I was rewarded with several minutes of close observation. When I did a little research on my “nosy” neighbors, I was surprised to learn that this species overwinters as an adult, and thus is often one of the earliest butterflies seen. The large palps (part of the mouthparts of all butterflies, but greatly elongated on this species) that give the American Snout its name are believed to provide some additional camouflage for this unusual creature. This species often rests on a twig, head upward, snout and antennae touching the twig. Look at that first picture again and imagine it is not on the flower but on the twig. The brown coloration of the underwings resembles a dried leaf. When the snout and antennae rest on the twig, they resemble a leaf petiole, so when this guy stops and rests on a twig, it virtually disappears as dead background vegetation!

American snout butterfly on spicebush wings spread

The squared off shape of the edge of the forewing is also characteristic of this species.

American Snout caterpillars feed exclusively on species of Celtis (Hackberry and Sugarberry in our area) and are more common in hardwood forests, especially near bottomlands. In the southwest, they occasionally undergo massive unexplained irruptions that can darken the sky and have been estimated to number in the millions. I was thankful to have just these two to brighten my day.

A Calligrapher Fly, Toxomerus sp.

While waiting for the snouts to land near me, I started noticing some other early spring visitors to the spicebush. A few syrphid flies were buzzing around and collecting nectar or pollen. I got a close look at one and believe it is a member of the genus Toxomerus. The genus name comes from the Greek, taxon, bow, and meron, thigh, and refers to the bow-shaped leg segment (femur) which can be seen in this photo. The other characteristic of this group is the V-shaped notch along the trailing edge of the eye (again, visible in this picture). These flies are wasp/yellow jacket mimics, but are harmless.

An Asian Lady Beetle (ladybug), Harmonia axyridis. I didn’t notice the small spider nearby until I looked at the image on my laptop.

Asian Lady Beetles (also commonly called Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles) are a highly variable (in color and pattern) species originally from eastern Asia. One key to identification is that they generally have a white pronotum (the shield behind the head) with what looks like an M or W showing. They have been intentionally released in various states since the early 1900’s as a biological control of aphids, but it wasn’t until the 1980’s that the species really took off nationwide. They are considered a pest by many for their habit of overwintering inside dwellings and their impact, through predation, on many of our native ladybug species.

A dainty Summer (?) Azure, Celastrina neglecta

My second butterfly species of the season caught my eye as a tiny light blue speck flitting across the yard and then landing on a dead leaf on the ground. I assumed it was a Spring Azure, but was unable to approach close enough for a photo. Once again, I stood next to the blooming spicebush, and my quarry finally landed close enough for a portrait. When I went online to confirm its ID, I was reminded by several sources that the azures are a complex group of species that can be very difficult to sort out. My favorite source of information on butterflies in our state, the Butterflies of North Carolina, states that Summer Azures are more abundant and fly just as early as Spring Azures. The Summer Azure is considered the palest in color (both above and below) and in comparing images online, it seems like this one more closely matches the Summer Azure photos I saw. Of course, if any readers have an opinion, I’d love to hear it. This may be the best thing about retirement, the ability to take the time to observe and learn something new about the many incredible natural moments that happen right outside my door.

Snow at Last

Posted on February 22, 2020 by roadsendnaturalist

Oh winter! One never, never loses the surprise and wonder of new fallen snow…

~Emily Carr

And surprise it was….they predicted it, and it actually snowed! That has been an unusual happening in these parts for over 450 days (I believe I heard the last measurable snow fall in central North Carolina was about 469 days ago). It started about 3 p.m. Thursday and lasted well into the night. The other surprise was how it affected the trees – it was a wet heavy snow with temperatures dropping rapidly, so ice built up on delicate tree limbs. By Friday morning, it looked as though all our small trees were bowing to the snow gods.

The view of the lower driveway with trees bending across the road (click photos to enlarge)

Brilliant white branches against a bright blue sky.

The redbud trees took a hit with several having split trunks or falling over due to the weight of the snow.

With such cold temperatures (in the 20’s) and a crust of frozen snow on most surfaces, the birds were busy at the feeders out back. I sat for a couple of hours watching their comings and goings before I just got too cold and had to retreat.

Carolina chickadee with a freshly hulled sunflower seed between its feet.

The most abundant birds I saw around the feeding station were pine warblers. They are the most common warbler we see in this area in winter (most warblers migrate out of our area to warmer climates). They can be found at both seed feeders (another unusual trait for a warbler) and suet (the latter is the preferred feeder here). They tended to come into the feeders in groups (typical behavior of winter feeding flocks) and exhibited quite a bit of aggressive interactions at times. I never managed to grab an image as a pair engaged in their brief battles where they fly up against one another, lock beaks, and spiral downward before releasing and chasing one another. I guess it is always good to have higher goals in life…

One of several pine warblers that stayed busy at the suet feeder. This one is waiting its turn as a more aggressive one is feeding.

A brightly colored male pine warbler looking his best in the snow.

I appreciated the opportunity to take in the subtle differences in color of the pine warblers.

This downy woodpecker is a bit aggravated that the pine warblers are hogging the feeder.

ruby-crowned kinglet with wing outstrecthed

The most difficult subject to photograph – a constantly moving ruby-crowned kinglet.

Though I saw it many times, I never captured the full extent of his ruby crown when he was agitated because he just would not sit still long enough.

Still one of my favorite winter birds in spite of (or maybe because of) his high speed antics.

The snow is stubbornly clinging here on our north-facing slope, but temperatures are supposed to rise to 50 degrees later today, so I imagine it will all be a memory by tomorrow. Snow in the Piedmont is an excellent metaphor for life – enjoy it while you can.

Natural Art

Posted on February 7, 2020 by roadsendnaturalist

All nature is but art unknown to thee.

~Alexander Pope

Earlier this week, I accompanied some friends on a stroll through one of my favorite local natural areas – Johnston Mill Nature Preserve in Orange County. This area is managed by the Triangle Land Conservancy and is one of their more popular sites. I love exploring this beautiful tract, especially in early spring when sections are carpeted with wildflowers like trout lilies and spring beauties. But, this time of year, a stroll through the bare forest allows you to notice and appreciate other details of the landscape – tree bark, fungi, textures, shapes, and, on a warm day like last Monday, the early stirrings of insects, amphibians, and other animal life.

Vibrant green moss at the base of a tree trunk (click photos to enlarge)

I appreciate the winter woods for their openness and the ability to see the bones of the landscape – the trees, vines, and boulders that give character to a forest. The trails at Johnston Mill are well-marked and pass through a variety of habitats from bottomlands to beech bluffs to open meadows along a power line. My favorites were the new Aphid Alley Trail (not yet marked on the kiosk maps but available on their maps online) and the Beech Loop. They highlight beautiful American beech trees and some steep slopes along creeks with wonderful vistas.

A beautiful stream flowing through a beech forest is a trail highlight

Boundary lines between crustose lichens on a tree trunk

Beech trees often provide a perfect canvas for a variety of interesting lichens. These flattened colonies of symbiotic algae and fungi are known as crustose lichens. I learned a new word when looking for information on lichen competition online – corticolous. This refers to lichen communities that grow on tree bark (those on rocks are known as saxicolous). Melissa mentioned she had learned in a lichen course that the distinct lines that you can see between some colonies could mark sort of a DMZ between warring lichens and that lichens may use chemical warfare to guard their boundaries. My online search shows some evidence for this but it still seems a bit controversial. It is a bit mind-boggling that these slow-growing assemblages set up zones of defense to ward off intrusions by their neighbors.

Modern art or lichen competition?

Tree trunks rarely get their due outside of winter, and even then, few hikers probably pay them much attention. But I find them fascinating, especially when covered in moss and lichen or when sporting unusual growths like the numerous burls we spotted on a few maples.

A knotty Red Maple trunk adds modern sculpture to the forest

Burls are a bit mysterious in origin with common causes believed to be infection by bacteria, virus, fungi, and perhaps certain insects.

Peeling plates of bark help to identify this tree as Shagbark Hickory

The peeling bark of American sycamore and shagbark hickories are another tree trunk treasure easily observed in the winter woods. Once again, the reasons for this phenomenon are not clear cut. Some trees may exfoliate (the term that describes shedding of bark) to rid the trunk of parasites, others to increase gas exchange or photosynthesis of bark tissue, but I’m mystified as to the ecological advantage of peeling plates of bark on a shagbark. Undoubtedly, it makes for good habitat for a host of associated organisms from insects to bats, but I’m not sure what the advantage is to this species of hardwood (I welcome your thoughts or references).

An unusual hollow trunk beckons a closer look

The gnarly texture of the root mass of a blown over sycamore along the creek bank

Entwined honeysuckle vines

One of the most noticeable tree textures along the trail – the warty bark of a Hackberry

I have hard time passing by the knobby bark of a hackberry without pausing to look closely, or rub my fingers across it. I took a few quick images of the layered bark bits and moved on. As often happens, when I was reviewing images and adding some sharpness (I usually magnify the image for this), I saw something I had missed earlier. Even with magnification, I was lucky to notice these ragged shapes hidden among the stacked hackberry bark pillars. After searching online I believe they are larvae of fireflies in the genus Pyractomena. Their distinctive head shape and the fact that they were out this time of year is pretty diagnostic. Larvae from this group are known to climb tree trunks to pupate in late winter or early spring and emerge as the first firefly adults of the season. They apparently hunt snails and other soft-bodied critters.

A closer look reveals some hidden surprises

A lacewing larva carries its texture on its back wherever it goes

slime mold reproductive structures on tree trunk 1?

We thought at first that these tiny fruiting bodies were from a slime mold, but experts are now suggesting otherwise…

During a brief pause, I glanced down and saw a line of tiny mushroom-like structures on a nearby tree trunk. Our first thought was slime mold fruiting bodies. My friend, Jerry, submitted some pictures to his local fungi expert who thinks it is probably a fungus, maybe Phleogena faginea. One common name I saw for this species is Fenugreek stalkball. When warmed, the fruiting bodies apparently smell like fenugreek (another new word for me), a curry-like powder derived from a plant of that name.

slime mold reproductive structures on tree trunk close up?

A local mushroom expert suspects these are the fruiting bodies of a fungus,

Patterns of fungi on a fallen log

That same log had a patch of what looked to me like a slime mold…but…

It’s not only upright, living tree trunks, that are adorned with interesting garb, but also fallen logs in various states of returning to the soil. One large log had a variety of mosses, lichens, fungi, and a mysterious orange blob that we thought might be a slime mold. It turns out to be a fungus in the genus, Phlebia (thanks, Van Cotter, for the fungi ID assistance). Once again, when I looked at the image on my laptop in higher magnification, my eye caught something I had missed in my quick field photo. Along the upper edge of the picture are some dark elongate “mini-bugs”. They look like springtails of some sort.

When I looked at the image on my computer, I saw some tiny dark-colored organisms along the edge – Springtails

Springtails are members of the Class Collembola and most are defined by an usual forked appendage called a furcula. The furcula is tucked up under their abdomen and acts like a spring to propel these tiny beasts many times their body length (not all Collembola can spring). These are abundant creatures and play an important role in decomposition and may also graze on molds and mildews. Many species are aquatic and some are active in the dead of winter where they aggregate on the surface of snow (snow fleas).

The aptly named Ceramic Fungus looks like broken pottery

An eight-point buck skull found near the trail

Discovering a patch of Running Cedar always brings a smile

Spissistilus festinus - Three-cornered Alfalfa Hopper ?

I believe this is a Three-cornered Alfalfa Hopper, Spissistilus festinus

Characteristic shape of this hopper group can be seen from above

My first spring ephemerals of the season, a few Spring Beauties in bloom along the trail

We ended up spending a few hours hiking a little over 4 miles (a naturalists’ pace) and found several mysteries, natural sculptures, and other natural art to provide a memorable sensory experience on a warm winter walk.

Another Caterpillar Season

Posted on September 26, 2019 by roadsendnaturalist

Look closely at nature. Every species is a masterpiece, exquisitely adapted to the particular environment in which it has survived. Who are we to destroy or even diminish biodiversity?

~E.O. Wilson

Yes, it is finally crawling to a close, another season of caterpillar searching, wrangling, and releasing. This one a bit less productive than some perhaps, but rewarding nonetheless. After a couple of caterpillar classes at the Museum and Botanical Garden, we ended with a bang at the Museum’s BugFest event last weekend. It was the usual phenomenal turnout with an estimated 25,000+ attendees. I am never sure how many folks we actually see at out caterpillar booth, but it was a steady stream of curious onlookers for a full 8 hours.

It was so busy this year, that I didn’t take the time to photograph some of our herd of larvae (around 50 different species). As usual, some of the best finds, like the Spun Glass Slug Moth caterpillar mentioned in an earlier post, pupated right before the big event.

This strange beauty never made it to BugFest, preferring to pupate about a week before the big event (click photos to enlarge)

We start searching a week or so ahead of BugFest, and we always lose some of our herd to the many hazards that caterpillars face – a few larvae erupted with parasitoid wasps or flies, and some we discovered as they were being used as the larval lunch special of the day for some of the many predators out there. With as many hazards as they face, it is sometime amazing we find any caterpillars at all.

Stink bug eating snowberry clearwing larva

While searching for clearwing moth larvae on coral honeysuckle, I came across this scene – a Florida Predatory Stinkbug with its prey

But, butterflies and moths are prolific little critters, and enough survive to keep it all going. I enjoyed watching some egg-laying behavior of several species in the week leading up to our caterpillar classes, including a snowberry clearwing (aka bumblebee moth) laying her eggs on a honeysuckle vine. I collected one egg and photographed the tiny newly hatched larva five days later.

A newly hatched Snowberry Clearwing caterpillar

The show-stoppers this year were two Imperial Moth larvae, one brown in color, the other green. Melissa found both, the brown one when it was a second instar about two weeks before BugFest. She found the green giant the day before, and I wished I could share the looks on the faces of people as they walked along the tables and first laid eyes on that behemoth.

Imperial moth larva eating its shed skin

Imperial moth larva recycling its shed skin

The rest of the critters included a wide range of caterpillars found throughout our region. As I mentioned, I took only a few minutes to quickly photograph some of the larvae before the crowds started arriving and asking questions. Here are a few more of my favorites…

The beautiful colors of a Smartweed Caterpillar

Early instar of a Blinded Sphinx (we think)

A Hog Sphinx on wild grape

Though the Imperial Moth larva were crowd favorites, my choice for caterpillar of the day was the weird and wonderful Curve-lined Owlet. These bizarre-looking caterpillars feed on greenbrier and mimic the brown, curled edges of dying leaves (and perhaps the vine tendrils). They often gently wave back and forth, looking like a dead leaving moving in a breeze. When I pointed it out to people, most were stunned that it was a caterpillar, so their camouflage seems to be quite effective.

Curve-lined owlet, my choice for caterpillar of the day

The aftermath of all this larval love involves releasing the stars of the show onto their host plants from whence they came. A few that pupated will be housed in proper conditions until they emerge sometime next year, and then they will be released into favorable habitat with the hopes they will create more of their kind. Meanwhile, I may let the macro lens rest for a bit, and see if I can find something a little bigger to ponder while I wander.

Moth Jets

Posted on September 17, 2019 by roadsendnaturalist

If you examine a butterfly according to the laws of aerodynamics, it shouldn’t be able to fly. But the butterfly doesn’t know that, so it flies.

~Howard Schultz

I’m not sure anyone could use that quote when describing the sphinx moths. They certainly look like they were made to fly and I have always been intrigued by their streamlined shapes. Last year, I managed to photograph the green beauty known as a Pandorus Sphinx, Eumorpha pandorus. It had come to a light along our breezeway at work.

Pandorus Sphinx Moth (click photos to enlarge)

The unique wing shape, colors, and pattern are very eye-catching and make this large moth look as though someone designed it for both fashion and night-time flight.

Last week we had a chance encounter (while grilling after dark) with another of the fighter jets of the moth world. This time it was the stunning Tersa Sphinx, Xylophanes tersa. The genus name combines the Greek words xylon meaning “wood” and phanes meaning “to appear” or “appear to be.” Indeed, the wings and body of this moth look like exquisite wood veneer.

Tersa Sphinx

The larvae feed on weeds in your yard such as Madder, Poor Joe, and Virginia Buttonweed. I found one last year in our yard on Diodia teres (Poor Joe) and the caterpillar is also quite appealing to the eye.

Tersa Sphinx caterpillar

I still have a few of these moth jets I want to see (the Abbott’s, Virginia Creeper, Hydrangea, and Azalea Sphinx’s to name a few), so I’ll keep looking around lights and setting out my moth sheets every summer. I suppose my bucket list actually is a bit different than most…

Caterpillar Countdown

Posted on September 14, 2019 by roadsendnaturalist

Beauty can come in strange forms.

~James Dyson

I thought about not saying anything else in this post other than the quote above, because it really does sum up what we found one night this week. Yes, it is that time of year again when we caterpillar-lovers are out and about searching for something cool, something bizarre, something strange and beautiful. Melissa and I both have caterpillar programs today and then next weekend is the annual BugFest celebration at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, where, once again, we will host a caterpillar booth. So, bear with me as I will no doubt share a few lovely larva images over the next couple of weeks.

We often find our best specimens at night, either by regular flashlight or UV flashlight (many species glow in UV light). And so it was Thursday night…some fine specimens indeed…

Black-blotched Schizura (click photos to enlarge)

The Schizura group are some of the leaf edge caterpillars – they chew out a section of leaf and then position their body within that section. The strange protuberances of the caterpillar’s body help disguise it by blending in with the jagged edges of the leaf blade.

Crowned Slug

One of my favorites, the Crowned Slug, looks like an alien creature. They, like many of the slug caterpillars, are difficult to find because they tend to feed on the undersides of tree leaves (plus, they blend in). These are best located with a UV flashlight.

The highlight of the evening was a species that I have wanted to find for several years. Being a true caterpillar nerd, I have poured over my copy of Wagner’s field guide countless times since it first came out, and been amazed at some of the bizarre larvae that can be found in our area. There are several that were on my “larval bucket list” and it is always a thrill to find one. For this species, I have seen the tiny moth a few times at home and at work, so I knew they were around.

Spun glass slug moth 1, Isochaetes beutenmuelleri

The strange-looking Spun Glass Slug Moth

And this week, I finally found the exquisite larva (with the aid of a UV flashlight).

Spun Glass Slug

This is the last instar of this translucent little beauty. It was found underneath an oak leaf (various oaks and American beech are the host plants). It is one of the so-called stinging caterpillars (tufts of spines that can inject venom if touched). Apparently, when it gets ready to pupate, the numerous “arms” fall off.

A closer look

Of course, now I want to find some of the earlier instars. I guess it is good to have goals in your life…

Roads End Naturalist

Educating myself and others about the natural world as I wander and ponder at road's end.

Category Archives: Natural History

Butterfly Courtship

Mason Farm Meander

How Much Wood Could a Wood Beetle Chew, If…

Waiting for Warmth

Oh Yeah, It Must Be Spring

Snow at Last

Natural Art

Another Caterpillar Season

Moth Jets

Caterpillar Countdown

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