Category: Natural History
-
Disguised Beauty
…the repulsive larva, tissue by tissue, is transformed into the superlative beauty of the adult moth. Beauty will come from beauty in disguise. ~Edwin Way Teale, on caterpillar transformation This was a good year for some unusual caterpillars. For some reason, while looking for larvae a couple of weeks ago, we managed to find several Read more…
Written by
-
KatyDid, But Wishes She Hadn’t
It provides strength to the armor plate of the beetle, keenness to the lancet of the mosquito, endurance to the rasping fiddle and bow of the cricket and the katydid. ~Edwin Way Teale, on the properties of chitin Late summer and early fall are a time of abundance of many types of invertebrates in our Read more…
Written by
-
You’re Such an Asp
The grace and elegance of every adult butterfly and moth, as it flits about on wings radiant with color, are counterbalanced by the grossness and ugliness of the immature insect. ~Edwin Way Teale As you probably know, if you are a reader of this blog, I don’t agree with this somewhat surprising view held by Read more…
Written by
-
Spider Zombies
An understanding of the natural world and what’s in it is a source of not only a great curiosity but great fulfillment. ~David Attenborough A quick update on a post I did two years ago on a Tale of Two Spiders. A friend had spotted an odd-looking spider that had spun a web on her Read more…
Written by
-
A Hot Day at the Refuges
All that is beautiful is difficult. ~Plato That sort of sums up my last trip to Pocosin Lakes and Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuges. It was beautiful, but difficult. Made so by the intense heat and humidity on the day of my tour last week. The heat was stifling, but, my clients and I managed to Read more…
Written by
-
Insect By Committee
…from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved. ~ Charles Darwin Spiders are everywhere in these woods now, so I decided I should probably photograph some and write a few observations to share. The other day I went downstairs to observe one that has repeatedly Read more…
Written by
-
Heads or Tails?
There will always be scary predator eyes looking out at us from the bushes – it’s just that most of the time they are mounted on the rear end of a happily munching caterpillar. ~The Caterpillar Lab, Sam Jaffe, Director On a walk at Yates Mill Park the other day, I came across one of Read more…
Written by
-
Another One (Hundred) Bites the Dust
Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~Dr. Howard Thurman It happened again. Ten months go by, another 100 blog posts. So, as I have done in the past, I mark this Read more…
Written by
-
Poop, Pose, and Pastry
Reality is easy. It’s deception that’s the hard work. ~ Lauryn Hill Nature is full of deception. And now it is being touted by none other than the New York Times. A recent article on caterpillar defenses caught my eye. Researchers studied the late stage larvae of the Canadian Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis). The larvae are Read more…
Written by
-
When Worms Aren’t
The worm poop is raining down like a black sleet storm. Got to remember not to open mouth while looking up. ~Ken in Texas, on Unofficial Allis Chalmers Forum, talking about Catalpa Worms A little over a month ago, I received an email from a neighbor about some caterpillars that were “munching their way thru Read more…
Written by
Roads End Naturalist 