Roads End Naturalist

Exploring the natural world as we wander at the end of the road

Welcome to our new website! We hope you like it. Please let us know if you notice something missing or that needs a correction. ~Mike & Melissa

  • Cool Cats

    “Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar.”        Bradley Millar

    Caterpillars are cool. I have been fascinated by these diverse and sometimes outlandish creatures for decades and have found them to be one of the best gateways for introducing people to the wonders of nature. I have used them effectively in teaching teachers, students, and the general public in my thirty year career with state parks and the museum. Their often unusual shapes and behaviors make them instantly appealing, they are fun to raise, and almost everyone that witnesses the miracle of metamorphosis is changed in some way. Tomorrow is the annual special event at the museum, BugFest, where we get to showcase caterpillars (and lots of other types of interesting invertebrates) with thousands of visitors. Several staff plus a few volunteers like me have been out looking for caterpillars this past week to share at BugFest. We have found a good variety but I want to highlight three of my favorites.

    Yellow-shouldered Slug 1
    Yellow-shouldered Slug (click on photos to enlarge)

    I posted on one of the more exotic slug caterpillars last week, the Saddleback. There are more than twenty species of slug caterpillars in our region, and there are some that do not have the stinging spines of the Saddleback. The Yellow-shouldered Slug is actually one of the more mundane of the group in appearance, but I always enjoy finding any of this peculiar clan. This species apparently has stinging spines in early instars (an instar is the stage between molts), but lacks them in the final one. Slug caterpillars tend to have more instars than most caterpillars – from 7 to 9, instead of the usual 5 of most species. Not sure where this one is in the process although it is still pretty small.

    Black-etched Prominent 3
    Black-etched Prominent

    The Prominents are another interesting group. Several have greatly elongated anal prolegs which resemble two tails. This Black-etched Prominent was feeding on a willow when it was discovered due to the presence of chewed leaves.

    Black-etched Prominent 5a
    Black-etched Prominent feeding on willow leaf

    They do have a remarkable camouflage that mimics the leaf color and shape, even to the detail of having a faux mid-vein-like stripe along their sides. But if pretending to be a leaf doesn’t fool a potential predator or parasite, this prominent has a couple of other defenses in its arsenal. The caterpillar can rapidly pump fluid into the two “tails” when it is agitated thereby greatly increasing their length. It quickly arches them over the body and whips the air with them which is probably especially effective against small flying parasitic wasps and flies.

    Black-etched Prominent face
    Black-etched Prominent “face”

    If further alarmed, the caterpillar rears back and arches its head toward the intruder, revealing markings that look like a large false head with dark eyes. It also opens and closes its mandibles in a threat display. Ultimately, this, and several other prominents, may result to chemical warfare. They can shoot an acid spray from a gland underneath the head region. I have not yet experienced this so am unsure if it deters something like a large mammal with a camera, but will let you know if and when.

    Curved-lined Owlet as dead leaf mimic
    Curve-lined Owlet as dead leaf mimic

    Then there are the caterpillars that I have seen in David Wagner’s field guide, Caterpillar’s of Eastern North America, and wished I could see first hand because they are so beautiful or bizarre (yeah, it’s true, I do think about such things). The Curve-lined Owlet is one of those species. And then, on the same day as the encounter with the Bobcat I reported in the last post, my friend found one of these Owlets on its host plant, Greenbrier (or Catbrier, Smilax sp.). And bizarre it is.

    Curved-lined Owlet dark green background
    Curve-lined Owlet on Greenbrier tendril

    This caterpillar is a dead leaf mimic. It is very slow in its movements and will gently quiver from side to side when disturbed, much as a dead leaf would do in a slight breeze. The unusual elongate projections coming off the dorsal side make sense when you see the caterpillar in its environment – the tendrils of its host plant, Greenbrier, have similar curves, and the rolled edges of dying leaves are similar in color and shape. After BugFest, I will return this and a couple of the other caterpillars found down east to their rightful home (either as larvae or pupae). Every effort is made to return the larvae to the proper environment after they are used for educational purposes. Now, if I could only find that one on page 270 that mimics the color and shape of a cluster of green grapes.

    Posted by

    Mike Dunn

  • Hummingbird Habits

    hummingbird threat display with another bird in view
    Hummingbirds challenging one another (click photos to enlarge)

    The past few weeks have been amazing in the garden – a daily display of aerial acrobatics from the remaining group of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. There are four birds feeding on various wildflowers and the three feeders I have out in the garden. Every time I am out there I see and hear the squabbles as these winged bullets streak over and around me chasing one another in a seemingly endless game of tag. It just seems so energy inefficient to spend this much time and effort zooming around as they prepare for their upcoming migration. But, hummingbirds may almost double their weight prior to migration, so they must be getting enough in spite of all the ruckus. Each morning for the past few days I have spent some time sitting and attempting to photograph the goings-on. These tiny bundles of energy have some fascinating habits.

    Hummingbird immature male
    Ruby-throated Hummingbird immature male

    There are at least two immature males in the bunch and they seem to be the most active. The adult males are the first to leave for their wintering grounds (and the first to arrive back in the spring). I have not seen an adult male for at least three weeks. The immature males mimic females in their plumage (including the white patches on the tail, which mature males lack). But they are beginning to have a few red feathers that will comprise the adult male’s stunning red throat (called a gorget) at maturity. Males develop their full colors on the wintering grounds and will return next spring with their flashy attire.

    hummingbird threat display
    Hummingbird threat display

    Much of their daily routine involves either active chasing or threat displays. The young male above contorted himself as another flew overhead and then gave chase.

    hummingbird threat display 1
    Hummingbird threat display

    This one was puffing up and leaning toward another bird that dared to land less than a foot away on the garden fence. These threat displays often end with a burst of speed that I am currently unable to capture with my camera. I have had them buzz me and almost fly into my car window which is what I am using as a “blind” for these photographs. They will often fly straight up for 30 or 40 feet in an aerial standoff before jetting off into the tree tops.

    Hummingbird scratching
    Hummingbird preening

    When not fighting, they often settle on a favorite perch (this can change daily) and tend to self-maintenance issues.

    Hummingbird scratching 1
    Hummingbird scratching
    Hummingbird scratching
    Hummingbird scratching

    They preen and ruffle their feathers and they spend a lot of time scratching with those tiny feet.

    Hummingbird rubbing bill
    Hummingbird rubbing bill

    They often rub their bill against the wire fence, a twig, or anything handy. One bird often sits near a morning glory vine and seems to probe the various parts of the plant with its bill as if checking for something.

    hummingbird tongue
    A Hummingbird’s long tongue moves in and out rapidly

    Following a short bout of preening they often flick their tongue in and out a few times before moving on. You can certainly see how they can reach deep into tubular flowers for a meal.

    Hummingbird approaching flower
    Hummingbird approaching flower

    Their hovering ability is one thing that makes hummingbirds so magical. Their wings beat and incredible 60 to 80 times per second in normal flight, faster in courtship dives. The thing most of us see them do is hover and feed, either at a feeder or a flower. Over the summer they have fed at a variety of plants in the garden including Crossvine, Larkspur, Bee Balm, Cardinal Flower, Coral Honeysuckle, and Morning Glory, the latter two being their primary source of nectar this week.

    Hummingbird nectaring at small morning glory
    Hummingbird nectaring at small morning glory

    While they usually prefer take-out at the drive-thru, they will sit and eat in if there is a convenient perch near a nectar source. This young male visited this flower several times yesterday morning, always feeding at it while perched.

    Hummingbird landing
    Hummingbird landing

    My garden guests will be checking out soon and headed for their winter homes. Most Ruby-throated Hummingbirds spend the winter in Mexico and Central America. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is North Carolina’s only breeding hummingbird species but recent research has documented several species (eleven the last I heard) that occasionally occur in our state, especially in winter. But most likely, once these few are gone, I won’t be seeing another hummingbird in my garden until the adult male’s arrive next March or early April. The garden won’t be the same without them.

    Posted by

    Mike Dunn

  • The Encounter

    “The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different.”   Hippocrates

    I take a break from the caterpillar posts to share a truly incredible moment with you. A friend and I traveled east over the weekend to search for caterpillars for the upcoming museum event I have mentioned in recent posts. Anytime I am down that way, of course, I always hope to observe bears or something else that is hard to find here in the more developed Piedmont. The day started out with driving on dirt roads near my favorite refuge, Pocosin Lakes, looking for caterpillars. Years ago I had learned the ways of caterpillar hunting by car from my friend, Paris Trail. He would drive very slowly down an isolated dirt road looking for chewed leaves in the vegetation along the edges, stopping to check out anything promising. We had good success finding some interesting caterpillars for BugFest on country roads out near Columbia (more on that in another post). We headed back toward Raleigh late in the day and I decided to drive through the refuge in hopes of seeing some bears. We had already had some great non-caterpillar sightings – hundreds of Bobolinks, a bird I don’t see that often, feeding in the fields at another refuge, Alligator River. We had also seen a Black Bear sow with three cubs and the largest King Snake I have ever seen as it crossed a dirt road in front of us.

    There are miles of gravel roads in the eastern section of Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge that pass through thousands of acres of seemingly endless shrub thickets, pines, and flooded forests. I have only been through this part of the refuge a couple of times and seen mainly Quail, Wild Turkey, a few deer, and some snakes. But yesterday afternoon I spotted something a few hundred yards down the road walking away from us. I stopped to check it out through binoculars. It was tough to tell at first, maybe a Coyote, maybe a Red Wolf, but then it turned and I could see the distant outline had only a short tail – a Bobcat!

    We watched it for a few minutes as it walked away and then I began to drive towards it at a very slow pace. The Bobcat turned, looked our way and resumed walking down the road, eventually wandering off into the vegetation. We sat a few minutes, and then drove slowly past the spot we had last seen it. It was nowhere in sight, although I knew it might just be sitting in some thick vegetation watching us. I have been fortunate to see many Bobcats over the years, mainly down east at Alligator River and Pocosin Lakes, along with a few in the mountains, and one much closer to home at Mason Farm in Chapel Hill. I have often seen them just sit and watch, confident in their camouflage and the ability to disappear in an instant if warranted. Down the road was a lone pine tree that cast a dark shadow across an otherwise bright gravel roadway. We drove down and parked in the shadow, figuring it would help hide us, and we got out with our cameras (I had my 500mm lens with a 1.4X teleconverter), sat down behind the car to hide our outlines, and waited.

    Bobcat after it came back out on the road
    Bobcat after it came back out on the road (click photos to enlarge)

    Within a minute or two, the sleek form materialized again. The Bobcat was now a little over 100 yards away but continuing in its original path which meant it was now headed our way. The scene was bathed in late afternoon light as we watched the Bobcat through binoculars. We could only hope it would continue walking down the road. As it did, it occasionally stopped and looked or listened for something in the grasses along the edge before slowly resuming its path toward us. At one point, it stopped, cocked its head, crouched, and then pounced off into the vegetation, disappearing from our view. It stayed hidden for a couple of minutes, and did seem to lick around its mouth as it walked back out, perhaps satisfied with some quick snack – a rodent? a frog?, a small bird?…who knows.

    Bobcat walking toward us
    Bobcat walking toward us

    Over the next several minutes, the Bobcat slowly made its way toward us, occasionally looking our way, but mainly checking out who-knows-what along the road edge. We both tried to keep our camera firing to a minimum because at times like these you realize how loud a camera shutter can be.

    Bobcat sitting 2
    Bobcat sitting in road

    It finally just plopped its hindquarters down in the middle of the road, looked around, and then stared straight at us.

    Bobcat sitting 1
    Bobcat looking right at us

    We both were holding our breath, admiring this beautiful wild creature that was sharing a part of its day with us.

    Bobcat walking toward road edge
    Bobcat walking toward road edge

    It then slowly stood up and started to walk toward the opposite side of the road. This gave us a glimpse of its supple power, the combination of a gliding walk with a muscular frame. We both commented later on how all felines from house cats to lions have that same smooth, graceful movement.

    Bobcat walking toward road edge looking at us
    Bobcat walking toward road edge looking at us

    As it continued, it angled back toward us, looking our way and then peering over into the nearby shrubs.

    Bobcat close up
    Bobcat right before it heads into brush

    There is something magical about looking into the eyes of another animal, especially one as elusive and majestic as a Bobcat. It is a rare privilege to spend ten minutes or more with a predator, or any wild animal for that matter, observing it as it goes about its life, allowing you to glimpse into its mostly hidden world.

    Bobcat steps into vegetation
    Bobcat steps into vegetation

    And then, it turned and silently vanished into the vegetation. We were speechless. We waited a few minutes, straining to hear a sound or see a movement that might indicate the Bobcat was still nearby. Nothing. We whispered wondering how close it had been when we last saw it. My friend finally paced it off – the Bobcat had been about 100 feet from where we sat. She turned to walk back toward me and the Bobcat slinked off, rustling a few branches as it went, unseen, into the safety of the forest. Neither of us had seen it while it apparently sat and watched us from maybe 30 feet as we walked and talked about the incredible, unforgettable encounter.

    Posted by

    Mike Dunn

  • So Many Green Things, So Little Time…

    black swallowtail caterpillar after molt
    Black Swallowtail caterpillar after molt (click to enlarge photos)

    There has been a spate of caterpillar sightings the past few days, especially of the big green kind. I know this is just to get me overly hopeful that some of them may actually still be around for use at the caterpillar tent this coming Saturday at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences big special event, BugFest ( see http://bugfest.org/ for details). Indeed, the timing of BugFest this year has me worried that many of the cooler cats that have been out and about will decide it is time to pupate a day or two before the event, leaving us with a precious few to entertain and educate the thousands of visitors expected to attend. It has been a great year for Black Swallowtals in the garden, but suddenly, the caterpillars have all but disappeared, as has their food supply of parsley and fennel. I saw one female laying eggs late last week, so I am hopeful a few of them make it, but most are busy feeding and molting their way to pupation in a hurry as the cooler weather sets in.

    Luna caterpilar on Persimmon
    Luna Moth caterpillar on Persimmon

    I was checking a Persimmon tree late last week and was surprised to find this guy, one of my favorite caterpillars, feeding on it. This is the larva of one of the most beautiful moths in our area, the Luna Moth. I usually find them on Sweet Gum so I initially thought this was a Polyphemus Moth caterpillar as my experience has been that species favors a wide variety of tree leaves. But a closer look revealed the tell-tale yellow stripe along the length of the abdomen and the stripes at the trailing edge of each abdominal segment that separates the Luna from the Polyphemus (whose oblique stripes run through the spiracles along the sides).

    Tobacco Hornworn on tomato
    Tobacco Hornworn on tomato

    The final big-green-eating-machine found last week was a Tobacco Hornworm on one of my few remaining tomato plants. This has not been a good year for tomatoes in my garden as the excessive early rains may have encouraged the blight, so there have been relatively few of these common garden caterpillars around. When disturbed, this one pulled into the characteristic posture that gives this family its name—they elevate the front part of their body and assume a posture reminiscent of the Egyptian Sphinx. Unfortunately for me, this one is large enough that it most certainly won’t last until BugFest. But, I will be out and about looking for more (hopefully successfully) the next few days so I hope you will tolerate a few more posts on caterpillars. They are one of my favorite subjects to photograph and I have found them to be one of the best ways to help get people of all ages excited about nature. If you are in Raleigh on Saturday, September 21, be sure to stop by  the caterpillar tent outside the main museum and let us share the excitement with you.

    And a late note…I had this prepared to post tonight but went out today looking for caterpillars and had quite a day – more in a future post later this week.

    Posted by

    Mike Dunn

  • My, What a Big Rostrum You Have…

    Scorpion Fly 1
    Female Scorpionfly (click photos to enlarge)

    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 me close enough to get one or two pictures before flying several inches away to perch on another leaf. Unfortunately, there were no males present, as it is the unusual “tail” of the male that gives the insect its name. The male’s abdomen ends in a coiled appendage that resembles a scorpion’s stinger. It contains his genitalia and a notal organ, which helps him hold the female’s wings during mating. The tip of a female’s abdomen is just slightly up-curved.

    Scorpion Fly head
    Scorpionfly head close-up

    The other unusual anatomical trait of this insect group is the elongated “nose” or rostrum. The mouth parts are located at the tip. Scorpionflies feed on dead insects, nectar, decaying organic matter, and the occasional slow-moving live prey.

    Scorpion Fly 3
    Scorpionfly female

    As if being odd-looking at both ends isn’t enough, these insects also exhibit some extraordinary mating behavior. Unlike most insects, it s the male Scorpionfly which may release reproductive pheromones to attract a mate. He then offers her a nuptial gift consisting of a dead insect or, often, a glob of spit that hardens as it dries. If she accepts, he grabs her with special claw-like structures in that scorpion-like appendage and mates while she is feeding. Who needs a pick-up line?

    Posted by

    Mike Dunn

  • Can’t Touch This!

    Saddleback caterpllar top view
    Saddleback caterpillar (click to enlarge photos)

    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 spot “saddle” edged with white) in the center of the back.

    Saddleback caterpillar side view
    Saddleback caterpillar on Iris leaf

    This distinctive larva is one of the unusual group of moth larvae known as slug caterpillars, family Limacodidae. Instead of having paired prolegs on their abdominal segments like most caterpillars, the slug caterpillars have suckers on the first seven segments. Larvae also secrete a semi-fluid silk as they move to help increase body contact and adhesion with the leaf (this can be seen in the first image). So, instead of crawling, they glide. I love the quote by David Wagner in his classic reference, Caterpillars of Eastern North America – “relative to other caterpillars, slug caterpillars seem more fantasy than reality”. Indeed, they are a strange lot, and this one is one of the strangest, and most painful when touched.

    Saddleback caterpillar
    Saddleback caterpillar showing spines

    Several members of this family have the ability to inflict painful “stings” by means of sharp spines, which, on some species, have associated toxins to enhance the pain to the recipient. These stinging spines, known as urticating spines, are most numerous on the fleshy tubercles, or “horns”, adorning both ends of the caterpillar body. I have often found a caterpillar quite by accident when weeding in the garden or moving a plant leaf and then receiving a series of stings and resulting small welts where I brushed up against the spines. It feels a lot like a wasp sting but, for me, dissipates more quickly, although the reddish welts may persist for many minutes. But susceptible people may experience intense pain and allergic reaction, so caution is advised when you encounter these unusual beauties.

    Saddleback caterpllar posterior
    Saddleback caterpillar posterior view

    When disturbed, the larvae often arch their body upward, exposing the intruder to more of the spines. They also have a false face on the posterior end, created by a pattern of light-colored spots. Even the cocoon should be handled carefully as they incorporate some of the irritating spines into the silk covering. These are generalist feeders found on a wide variety of plants, although I often find them on iris leaf blades in the garden. But, in spite of their formidable protection, I always enjoy finding these interesting caterpillars. Now, if only it will stay this way another week until the Museum’s largest special event of the year, BugFest (I’ll be volunteering at the caterpillar tent). I have a feeling I’ll be wishing that a lot in the next few days as I find various caterpillars about ready to pupate…what a difference a week makes!

    Posted by

    Mike Dunn

  • They Grow Up So Fast…

    Bumblebee Moth egg
    Snowberry Clearwing Moth egg
    Question Mark egg 1
    Question Mark egg

    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. It has been about three weeks since I photographed the eggs. Most lepidopteran eggs hatch within 3-5 days after being laid and many species of butterflies and moths have larval stages that last about two to three weeks. So, I expected to find some caterpillars that were in the mid to late instar stage of development. I did find a couple, and while I can’t be sure they are the ones from the eggs I photographed, they probably are from eggs laid about the same time.

    Snowberry Clearwing larva mid instar
    Snowberry Clearwing larva

    The species I nicknamed Little Spike (a Snowberry Clearwing Moth larva) has become more proportional to its caudal horn (tail spike) and changed color. I cannot find any reference as to the function of the tail spike found on most sphinx moth larvae, other than one tongue-in-cheek mention that it must be to scare gardeners. Indeed, there is a common misconception that these types of caterpillars can sting you with that horn (they cannot). Perhaps it is similar to the angled stripes that many species have along their sides and serves to help break up the typical caterpillar outline or shape by blending in with leaf veins, petioles, etc. Notice that this larva does exhibit a form of counter-shading, with the color becoming fainter as you move from the bottom to the dorsal side of the body. Since this species often feeds on the underside of the light-colored leaves of honeysuckle plants, this color scheme makes sense, especially when viewed from below the leaf, causing the caterpillar to blend in more with its surroundings.

    Question Mark larva late instar
    Question Mark larva late instar

    Next I looked over the elm sapling where I had found the Question Mark or Eastern Comma eggs (they are identical). It turns out they were laid by a Question Mark. The caterpillar is a rather fierce-looking larva armed with branching spines (scolia). I had to check the field guide to make sure it is not one of the so-called stinging caterpillars (like Io Moth or Saddleback Caterpillars) whose stiff spines contain venom which can cause severe irritation when touched. This species is, indeed, harmless, but the spines undoubtedly serve to protect it from many invertebrate predators and perhaps deter others.

    Question Mark larva late instar 1
    Question Mark larva posture

    This particular caterpillar also had an interesting behavior when disturbed. It arched its body in a tight curve and stuck out the posterior end. I have seen some caterpillar species do this that can exude distasteful chemicals from their anus, or that have fake heads on their backside. I’m not sure if this is a species level behavioral trait or what the function might be if it is, but anytime I am faced with an array of sharp spines, I think twice before grabbing.

    Posted by

    Mike Dunn

  • Power Line Patterns

    power line tower at sunrise
    Power line tower at sunrise (click photos to enlarge)

    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 of early morning provides highlights and contrasts, dark background shadows, dewy grasses, calm conditions, and eventually a soft light that bathes an object allowing you to glimpse its essence. The meadow and woods edge habitats embrace the light and invite me to move slower, look closer, and appreciate the subtleties of the commonplace…the shapes and patterns that comprise the natural world around us. Here are a few images from my wanderings.

    Backlit grass seed head
    Backlit grass seed head
    spittle bug bubbles
    Spittle Bug bubbles on grass
    Triangulate Orb Weaver abdomen
    Triangulate Orb Weaver abdomen
    False Dandelion after seeds have dispersed
    False Dandelion after seeds have dispersed
    Back view of False Dandelion flower as it faces the morning sun
    Back view of False Dandelion flower as it faces the morning sun
    Caterpillar on bent grass stem cold tone
    Caterpillar on bent grass stem
    Redbud leaf skeletonized b yFall Webwrm larvae
    Redbud leaf skeletonized by Fall Webworm larvae
    Leaf-footed Bug on grass seed head
    Leaf-footed Bug on grass seed head
    Virgina Creeper fruit hanging from snag
    Virgina Creeper fruit hanging from snag
    Eastern Tiger Swallowtail wing close-up 1
    Eastern Tiger Swallowtail hind wings close-up

    With the approach of autumn, treat yourself to a morning meander and look for the patterns of life that make our world so wonderful.

    “To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring – these are some of the rewards of the simple life.” ~ John Burroughs

    Posted by

    Mike Dunn

  • Chrysalis Camouflage

    Cloudless Sulphur chrysalis
    Cloudless Sulphur chrysalis shortly after caterpillar’s last molt (click photos to enlarge)

    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 quite variable so I didn’t give it much thought. The caterpillar had been placed in a mesh cage just before pupating as it had stopped feeding and was crawling off the cut plant I had brought it in on, sure signs that it was getting ready to transform. And, as they often do, the caterpillar had again crawled off the plant material I had provided in the cage and pupated under the edge of the lid of the container, making for a less than ideal photo backdrop, and requiring me to pin some black felt behind it for the photographs.

    Cloudless Sulphur chrysalis after it dries
    Cloudless Sulphur chrysalis a few days later

    I checked on it again a couple of days later and was amazed at the color change, much more like the one I had found a few years ago in a patch of host plants down east. The colors are beautiful – a faint pink, tinged with yellow highlights, and the whole thing being a odd obliquely stretched form suspended by a silken girdle. The color change should not have surprised me as I have seen several species which undergo a shape and color change in the chrysalis within a short time after they form. There is usually some adaptive advantage for even unusual forms and colors in nature but I was initially at a loss as to how this odd combination might serve the pupa.

    Partridge Pea flower after blooming 1
    Partridge Pea flower after blooming

    So, I went back out to the power line this morning and looked at the plants. The explanation may lie in the fading blossoms. As the bright yellow flowers fade, they droop, and when viewed from the side have a shape similar to the chrysalis.

    Partridge Pea flower as it fades
    Partridge Pea flower as it fades

    They also start changing color to an orange-yellow, and then, gradually, to a somewhat pinkish-yellow hue. The lines on the chrysalis may mimic the sepals and folds in the fading flower petals as well. I also noticed a few pinkish leaves of other nearby plants as they begin to turn color for the onset of autumn. Online, I found images of a chrysalis from this species that was light green and the lines resembled the veins of a leaf. Perhaps this species can have a chrysalis that is variable depending on the surrounding plants. Whatever the case, it is certainly one of the more unusual and beautiful chrysalises I have found.

    Posted by

    Mike Dunn

  • Little Spike

    Snowberry Clearwing Moth egg on Japanese Honeysuckle
    Snowberry Clearwing Moth egg on Japanese Honeysuckle (click photos to enlarge)

    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 lay an egg. She hesitated momentarily on a Japanese Honeysuckle leaf (one of her host plants) and deposited a single egg. I collected the stem of honeysuckle, found a discarded cup along the gravel road, and added some water from a nearby puddle to keep the plant fresh until I got home. I often carry a plastic bag with me on walks in case I find an interesting caterpillar I want to photograph. You can cut a portion of the plant the caterpillar is on and enclose it in a plastic bag and it will stay fresh for several hours as long as you don’t leave it in direct sunlight. The flimsy bags that newspapers are delivered in make great collecting bags as they are long and skinny and scrunch down to fit in your pocket. But I had left home without one that day so had to improvise. Back at the house I put the stem in a water-filled floral vial to keep the plant fresh for a few days until the egg hatched (vials are available at florists or craft stores like Michaels).

    First instar Snowberry Clearwing on honeysuckle wide angle
    Newly hatched larva of Snowberry Clearwing Moth

    I checked the egg every morning and on day 6 from the day it was laid the egg hatched. I grabbed my camera (Canon 7D), the 65 mm macro lens, and the macro twin lights and took a number of shots, moving the lights around to get different highlights.

    First instar Snowberry Clearwing 1
    First instar Snowberry Clearwing larva a few hours after hatching

    I zoomed in on the larva and took several more shots. This image is one of my favorites as it brings out the texture of this little guy and shows the remains of the egg in the lower right corner of the picture. Many caterpillars eat their egg shell as their first meal soon after they hatch. One feature of this tiny caterpillar surprised me since I have photographed them before in their later instars – the tail spike seemed really long relative to the overall body length. This apparently changes and becomes more proportional as the caterpillar grows and molts. After getting all the shots I thought I needed (if there really is such a thing) I released the caterpillar in my garden. The easiest way to do this is to attach the cut stem with the larva onto another host plant growing outside using a clothes pin or paper clip. The larva should crawl off the original plant onto its new food source as the older plant begins to wither. I hope to find Little Spike in a week or so after a couple of molts to photograph it again.

    Posted by

    Mike Dunn

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