Caterpillar Collection

Today we're going crazy for caterpillars. I know there have been other days when there were a lot of caterpillars in the yard, but I think today probably sets a record for number of species spotted, and though most of them are ones I have seen before - like, almost daily, there is one brand new species for the backyard today. Fun fact: A group of caterpillars is called an army, but that doesn't really apply to today's collection, because they are mostly individuals. An army of caterpillars would be a group of caterpillars of the same species congregating together.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 This would appear to be a Spiny Oak Slug caterpillar. Being a slug-like caterpillar, it is related to the saddleback and the smaller parasa. And those spines will deliver a nice sting of venom if you touch it.
This is an internet identification, by the way, because it's not in any of my books, so take it with a grain of salt.

 This caterpillar can be a variety of colors, so I have read. This one looks just like lichen.

 That's a lot of spines. I think this is the front end. As it is a slug-like caterpillar, the face is somewhere underneath. I guess you don't really have to see what's going on around you if you are covered in venomous spines. Predator coming at you? Who cares? Poink!

Okay, so that's one caterpillar species. What else did I find?

 More caterpillars hatched today. I missed out on getting pictures of any but this one, because my camera battery died, and by the time I charged it (and not even fully), they others had scattered. Today was the first day of autumn, and I know that the weather doesn't really follow dates, but I have to wonder what the point is of laying eggs that will hatch with so little time for the caterpillars to eat and grow. I think there are some species that actually overwinter as caterpillars, as opposed to pupae or moths/butterflies, but still. This is a tiny caterpillar, and its food source, depending on what it eats, could disappear before it has a chance to reach its growth potential. However,  I must assume the moth that laid the eggs knows what she's doing.

 Here's the empty eggs.

I know, you've seen the White Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar before.

In fact, you've seen this exact specimen before, if I am right that it has been the same one hanging out on the same tree for weeks.

 Today was sort of a special day for watching this caterpillar, however, because it didn't just sit on a leaf, and it didn't just eat, it walked. Aaaaaaaaaaall over the tree. Granted, the tree is a sapling about 6 feet tall that barely has any leaves on it at the moment, but I think that is what all the walking was about. I think the caterpillar was trying to find something to eat. Unfortunately, the leaves remaining on the tree are turning, and some of them are already pretty dry and crunchy. I think caterpillars need live, green leaves. So, it marched up and down the branches and trunk, testing leaves, and testing the leaves of nearby plants that it could reach from the tree branches (remember, caterpillars have terrible vision, so it can't tell that the leaf closest to it is a goldenrod plant, not part of the tree), until it finally found one it wanted to eat. An interesting thing I have noticed about caterpillars in general is that they often don't consume an entire leaf; they will eat part of it - and sometimes only a tiny part - and move to another one. There are lots of leaves on this tree that are partly eaten.

 All that walking meant I could get shots of the caterpillar's underside.

 This is another WHTMC on a different tree. This one was bigger. The caterpillar and the tree.

The Saddleback Caterpillar was also in eating mode today. It ate almost an entire leaf before I got up this morning, and then moved on to this one. Granted, these are not the biggest leaves, but still. Relative to the size of the caterpillar that's a lot of food.

 Slug-like caterpillars look weird when they eat.

 This probably-some-kind-of-prominent-moth caterpillar has recovered from the arduous task of moulting and is onto eating again. It looks bigger already.

 Brown Hooded Owlet Moth caterpillar. So obvious that in this case, the name describes the moth, not the caterpillar.

More caterpillar feet!

 There are two (at least that I could see) caterpillars living in this messy silk-and-leaf structure. Obviously they are eating the leaf it is built on, but there are dried leaves making up their home. When I got too close they retreated into their tent.

Last caterpillar of the day, a tiny looper. Maaaaybe about a quarter inch long.

Eight different species of caterpillars today! And I actually knew the names of half of them! And of those, three I knew without having to look them up!

I took video of the White Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar as it ambled today.  Click HERE to see the caterpillar take a long walk. It is quite long, so I don't imagine you'll want to watch the whole thing, but maybe you will, because it is oddly compelling, and surprisingly relaxing - almost mesmerizing, even. The caterpillar is quite cute, for a creature covered in venomous spines.

To complement our collection of caterpillars with more Lepidoptera, but adults this time, here are a couple of moths in the wild:

 I thought at first that this moth was dead, and in the clutches of a spider, but nope, it was alive, and proved it by flying away.

This moth tried to escape being run over by the lawnmower by flying in front of the lawnmower and sitting on the grass. A surprising number of critters use this technique. Luckily for them, I am smarter than they are, and don't like killing things. In the end, after I took its picture, I had to actually coax it out of the mower's path so I could continue mowing the lawn.

Not EVERY bug I saw today was in the order Lepidoptera. (Yes, I know, technically NO bugs are in the family Lepidoptera, because true bugs are the order Hemiptera. Just go with it). Here's the Random Bugs for today:

 I'd be worried if I was that treehopper on the right.

A glimpse of the praying mantis's wings. Having wings means it has reached adulthood. I am not saying I wish I was a bug, but it would be cool if being an adult meant wings for humans, too. Car keys are not quite the same.

 Small Milkweed Bug

 Cranefly

 Confession: I don't like all bugs. I hate this one. And I hate it for no good reason, just because it looks creepy and reminds me of a nightmare-inducing Star Trek:TNG episode.

That Tree, still Hemiptera Headquarters.

I sort of have a Backyard Bud of the Day:

 I don't think these are buds, I think this plant has already bloomed, but they look bud-like. It's all part of the cycle.

New growth on a cedar tree.

I found a few spiders for Arachnid Appreciation:
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 I know I am anthropomorphizing, and projecting, and all that, and I am partly basing this on the fact that I was obviously disturbing this spider, but doesn't it look peeved?

I am ever-so-slightly tempted to get up at dawn to see what this web looks like covered in dew. Except that I think the air is too dry for it to get dewy.