American Dagger Moth Caterpillar (Acronicta americana). There is a long list of host plants of the American Dagger Moth, Box Elder, Maple, and Oak are three of many.
One of those caterpillars that can cause a skin irritation. No venom involved but it can cause that skin irritation. Unless you like a painful or itchy rash don’t pick this critter up.
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There is a very important tradition in this family. Go to a pumpkin patch before Halloween to pick out a pumpkin.
A most difficult decision when there are so many to chose from. But nobody said just ONE!
Choosing one would be an impossible task. There are so many colors. And surely color is my thing. And then there are so many sizes and shapes. Ah! How many can I bring home? Surely a whole wagonload will do. Yes, let’s go with that. Not one, but a whole wagonload.
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Fat Bear Week is celebrated in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska from October 4 to 10 in 2023. The competition is between the Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) that live in that park. And all Grizzly Bears are Brown Bears. But Grizzly Bears are considered to be a separate subspecies (Ursus arctos horribilis).
The bears that are here in Virginia are Black Bears (Ursus americanus) and generally weigh between 200 to 500 pounds. Brown Bears are considerably larger, averaging 500 to 900 pounds with exceptional older males possibly reaching 1,400 pounds.
I wanted to show you though, since it is Fat Bear Week, the fattest bear I’ve ever seen here. Not the largest bear, but certainly the fattest.
Whew! I’m glad the bears I have here are “little” ones!
Glad to see that October is National Pumpkin Month, otherwise I might have gone on a campaign to get the month set aside as such. After all they’re everywhere and in so many good things to eat. Flowers, seeds, and the flesh of the fruit itself, so nutritious. As well as, soon to be sitting on innumerable doorsteps, great for decorating.
The Pumpkin plant is native to Central America and Mexico. The oldest example of orange field pumpkin seeds were found in Oaxaca, Mexico, which have been dated to be 8,000 to 10,000 years old.
October, the month to go to the pumpkin patch to pick out the favorites of all the pumpkins. Such anticipation for that exciting excursion!
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The ubiquitous, Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys). Or simply the BMSB.
It is for sure ubiquitous around my cabin now. It is their season it seems. Certainly their season to try to enter homes to spend the winter. This photograph is just a few of the BMSBs on a window screen, waiting for an opportunity to sneak, to squeeze, to enter my cabin in any way possible. Many are successful, making them quite the invasive pest. They’re also an agricultural pest, an economic threat to farmers.
The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is originally from East Asia, including China, Japan, and Korea. It hitched a ride somehow to the this continent but it isn’t known exactly how. It was first seen in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1996, and can now be found in many parts of North America.
There are some native creatures that will prey on BMSBs, including other insects, birds and spiders.
I was really pleased to witness an Orb Weaver that had captured this BMSB, wrapped it up in its silk and was proceeding to eat it. In this picture the Stink Bug is up-side-down and the Orb Weaver is underneath, on the left side of the image. I really hope the spiders that are spinning their webs to decorate my cabin for Halloween are eating many, many of these ubiquitous pests!
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Today, the first day in October. And here, Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), a gorgeous red in early autumn.
Those red leaves as well as the berries should not be eaten, at least by humans. The berries are quite popular with birds during the winter, but they and the leaves contain teeny tiny, needle shaped calcium oxalate crystals. Those crystals can cause irritation, and sometimes blisters to the tongue, mouth, and throat of us humans.
So, enjoy the beauty, but don’t get wild and crazy and eat any.
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Spiders love to decorate for Halloween, and I appreciate it so much. They spin their webs all over my cabin, making it look wondrously spooky.
This is the species of spider that created the web where this drama occurred today at lunch. A Spotted Orb Weaver (Neoscona crucifera).
As I sat eating lunch, I noticed a bit of action taking place at one of the spider webs, just outside the window. A Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) had become tangled in the web and was fluttering about madly. The spider was sitting on the web looking quite pleased and hungry.
And then, out of the blue, “Here he comes, to save the DAY!!” A migrating, Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) enters the scene. I don’t know if it was attracted by the brilliant red-orange of the butterfly’s wings, or if perhaps the tiny bird was thinking of stealing the spider’s meal. Hummingbirds do eat insects, by the way, including insects trapped in spider webs. It approaches the trapped Red Admiral and in short order the butterfly escapes – becoming nobody’s meal, and the hummingbird came around to the feeder filled with syrup, just for the migrating hummers.
Coppery Leafhopper (Jikradia olitoria). A tiny member of the Leafhopper family (Cicadellidae), measuring in at 1/4 to 5/16 inch. They’re found in eastern North America. Colors are variable, ranging from a brown-gray, to a very dark brown, to a dark blue, to a light dull yellow.
So many little things to notice in this world.
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Looking something like a Yorkshire Terrier, or a dragon in a Chinese New Year parade, a White-marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar (Orgyia leucostigma). Not a caterpillar to be picked up since those cute hairs can easily puncture your skin and cause hives and a skin rash. Those four white tufts on the right side can also lean toward yellow.
Look but don’t touch!
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A favorite barn. I pass it every morning as I travel to yoga, often stopping to get photographs. Everyday brings new changes. Precipitation. Sunlight. Bales of hay. Shadows. Cows. Snow. Torrents of rain. Many years of images of this barn.
This, one of many at the top of my list of favorite times I’ve stopped. Barn, scattered bales of hay, and those Morning Glories (Ipomoea) hugging the fence, with Parker Mountain in the background.
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