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The Second 100
Our job is to record, each in his own way, this world of light and shadow and time that will never come again exactly as it is today. ~ Edward Abbey Once again, I find it hard to believe I have reached another milestone, post #200 on this blog. I’m not sure what, if anything, Read more
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Willet or Won’t It?
It is important to share the shore with shorebirds and respect their needs. Their lives depend on it. ~Walker Golder This time of year, the beaches of North Carolina are breathing a sigh of relief as the huge tourist crowds of summer are starting to thin. They are also seeing lots of activity from wildlife, Read more
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Larval Leftovers
Every September, for as long as I can remember (or at least well more than a decade), I have been collecting caterpillars in preparation for the annual BugFest event at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. It is always great fun to share these larval lovelies with the thousands of visitors that make the Read more
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That’s a Caterpillar?
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. ~Albert Einstein There are some creatures that are so bizarre that they leave me baffled as to why they are the way they are. This is one of them. Even the name is a mystery Read more
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Definitely Not a Baby Rattle
Venomous snakes are among the most maligned and misunderstood animals on earth. ~In Snakes of the Southeast by Whit Gibbons and Mike Dorcas In a recent post, I mentioned my first ever encounter with a juvenile Canebrake Rattlesnake while at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to drive Read more
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Looking Sharp
In summer the empire of insects spreads. ~ Adam Zagajewski In honor of BugFest happening today, I thought I would post another unusual caterpillar portrait – the Spiny Oak-Slug, Euclea delphinii. As a member of the slug caterpillar group, the Spiny Oak-Slug lacks the usual paired prolegs of most caterpillars and, instead, has medial sucker-like Read more
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Io You
…mysterious and little known organisms live within walking distance of where you sit. Splendor awaits in minute proportions. ~E.O. Wilson Here is another of my favorite caterpillars, the Io, Automeris io. Beautiful, but it is also one of the so-called “stinging caterpillars”. The urticating spines contain a venom that can cause a painful sting. I Read more
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Puss Cat
Never touch anything that looks like Donald Trump’s hair. ~Gwen Pearson I just love that quote. It is the title of an article in WIRED last week on a particularly painful caterpillar known by various names – Puss Caterpillar, Asp, and Southern Flannel Moth Caterpillar, Megalopyge opercularis. I find one of these every couple of Read more
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Stately Garden Visitor
This weekend, while I was picking beans in the garden, I felt I was being watched. I looked around, and, sure enough, had a visitor. It was a beautiful Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina. This one was particularly striking, with a bright, bold pattern on both its shell and head. I suspected it was a Read more
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Baby Rattle
…a wonderful creature, when we consider his form, nature and disposition…he is never known to strike until he is first assaulted or fears himself in danger, and even then always gives the earliest warning by the rattles at the extremity of his tail. ~William Bartram, 1791 I made some time last week to do a Read more
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Roads End Naturalist 