Category: Caterpillars

Red-eyed Vireo At The Birdbath

I hear them frequently in the woods surrounding my cabin. Making a call that sounds like a Catbird saying, “Myaaah!” Or more of a melodious song, that I use a mnemonic to remember, “Here I am! Where are you?!”

As with other birds that I wouldn’t see ordinarily, the Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus), is looking for insects in the woods. I can’t provide them with their meals but I can provide them with water, in the form of a large birdbath with a dripper. That’s what has drawn this beautiful little bird to my camera’s range.

A Busy House

The female Chickadee (Paridae) has built her nest. I expect by now the eggs have hatched and both the male and the female are out searching for caterpillars, spiders and insects for their young.

A bit of a timeline: One to two days after the female builds the nest, her eggs are laid. She incubates the eggs for about twelve days before they hatch. All this time the male Chickadee takes care of his mate by bringing her food.

Upon hatching, these new birds are naked and blind but within a week, though still with eyes closed, they are growing feathers. The female now goes out searching for food as well.

At eleven days old they have grown their feathers and have opened their eyes. At two weeks, or just a couple days longer, the fledglings are able to fly short distances. After a couple weeks of guidance and feeding by their parents the juveniles are on their own to face the wide world.

Woolly Dutchman’s Pipe

Woolly Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia tomentosa). A vine that grows vigorously with a mind of its own. A vine with a funny looking flower. It’s native to southeastern Canada and the eastern United States. This is a plant in the genus Aristolochia. Plants in this genus are larval host plants of the Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly.

I love to grow plants that I know will help insects live in this environment. To watch. To wait. To see if I can see any benefit. I’ve been able to watch caterpillars grow.

To watch as a caterpillar molts into a glowing chrysalis. Inside this protective shell, the caterpillar totally alters its body, finally emerging as a beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly. All because I planted this vine that needs care to keep it in bounds. This plant with the funny looking flowers. What a marvelous reward.

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Canadian Owlet Caterpillar

Canadian Owlet Caterpillar (Calyptra canadensis)

I can count on caterpillars impressing me in a big way. So often they come in brilliant colors and occasionally one will look like a cartoon character.

And this one certainly fills the bill with its colors. The mature Canadian Owlet Moth is what some think of when it comes to moths. It is brown and blends in perfectly with the dead leaves of the woods. A great camouflage.

Native to Canada and much of the United States, though the warmer southern states don’t often see this bright beauty. The host plant of the Canadian Owlet is Early Meadow Rue (Thalictrum dioicum) which doesn’t care for that warm climate.

Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle

Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis), quite a large name for a beetle that is just half an inch in length. These beetles with the long name have a defense tactic for warning potential predators to stay away, Aposematism. It’s unusually bright coloration is used as a way to avoid being attacked or eaten. This the same technique that Monarch Butterflies use to warn probable predators.

And like Monarchs, the Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle eats the sticky white sap of Milkweed plants which contains toxic chemicals. Some insects are able to consume this sap without being poisoned. The chemicals remain in their bodies to protect them. The larvae of Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle are eaten by Damsel Bugs, Stink Bugs, and Hover Fly Larvae. I guess they don’t care about the danger signal that is conveyed with the coloring.

Host plants of this beetle include its favorite, Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), along with Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Swallow-wort (Cynanchum), and Twinevine (Funastrum). All toxic to most animals which provides the protection that these beetles seek.

Blackhaw in Bloom

Blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium) in bloom in the woods now. Its nectar and pollen attracting both bees and flies. Caterpillars of the Spring/Summer Azure Butterfly feed on buds and flowers of Blackhaw while later instars of Baltimore Checkerspot will occasionally nibble on the leaves.

Lovely to see this small tree/or shrub blooming in its native eastern North America. Cymes of 1/4 inch flowers that are each punctuated with 5 long stamens with thin white filaments topped with yellow anthers.

 

Watching The Blueberry Crop

Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)

Eastern Towhees are here in the mountains of central Virginia year round. Their diet is primarily insects, seeds and berries and during the summer they tend, of course, to eat more insects. True bugs, beetles, ants, caterpillars, moths, millipedes, spiders and snails are all on the menu. But there’s something special to me, which I share with them. Those blueberries. This fellow is watching over them. Watching how they are growing. Watching and waiting for them to ripen. Just like I am. I wholeheartedly enjoy sharing the blueberries with the birds. For me, the berries mean pies, pancakes, muffins. For them it means breakfast, lunch and dinner. Glad to share.