Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Don’t miss the little things when you are out in nature. Little things in nature can be so cute, like this Banded Tussock moth caterpillar (Halysidota tessellaris). They look like tiny Yorkshire Terriers to me. Cute as they are though, don’t pick one up. Their furry coat can cause an itchy rash that will last a couple hours, or perhaps even a couple days.

I discovered this one on my watering can handle today. Normally you’ll find them eating the leaves of Oak, Ash, Birch, Willow, Poplar, Walnut, and Grape.

Little things in nature, worth looking for!

_______________________________________________________________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

One Of Several Host Plants

The Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) on one of its many host plants.

Silvery Checkerspots depend upon several composites as their host plants including Asters, Coneflowers, and Sunflowers. These two photos are of a species of Sunflower, Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus).

_______________________________________________________________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

Starry Campions Along The Trail

Starry Campion (Silene stellata), at the top of my normal hike, when I’m out wandering. My hikes are the same all the time. I’ve gotten to know my mountains well. What plants are where, whether it is a “bush” of American Chestnut, or a little puff of Pincushion Moss, I know where they are. This plant is one of my “sign posts” to turn around. This and Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum). Turn around and head back down to the cabin.

Starry Campion, native to the central and eastern United States, a herbaceous perennial which is 1 to 2 feet tall, most often unbranched or with few branches.

The flowers occur individually or in very small groups at the tips of long side branches. The flowers are a bit less than an inch across, made up of 5 snowy white fringed petals.

Flowers bloom from the middle, to late summer, for almost a month.

The lower and upper leaves are opposite and the middle leaves are in whorls of 4. The leaves measure about 4 inches long and a bit more than 1 inch across.

So many discoveries out there, just waiting to happen, even when I think I know my mountains.

_______________________________________________________________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtails Do Not Migrate

The Virginia state insect, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) doesn’t migrate but hunkers down in leaf litter as a chrysalis and waits out the winter in a state much like hibernation, called diapause.

I don’t have any photographs of the chrysalis stage of the Tiger Swallowtail, but do have an image of a caterpillar stage. From this stage the Swallowtail will transform into a chrysalis. Often this stage will be in leaf litter. And as spring arrives, on a schedule of its own, a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly will emerge.

In a couple months, as you are contemplating cleaning up your autumn and winter gardens, keep in mind there are possibly all sorts of overwintering critters staying snug and warm in that precious leaf litter. A perfectly tidy garden may not be the best thing!

_______________________________________________________________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

Camouflage Maven

Quite the magician when it comes to changing color. Three species of Crab Spider (Thomisidae) have the ability to perform this amazing change, and it is only the female of the species.

This school bus yellow Crab Spider is perched on Goldenrod (Solidago), awaiting her unsuspecting dinner to come by.

These Crab Spiders normally change from white to yellow, or yellow to white, but on occasion will also become a pale green. In the picture above the Spider in its white coloration is on Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota).

It is a quicker transformation for the Crab Spider to go from yellow to white since it will excrete the yellow pigment stored in its glands. Going from white to yellow requires the spider to produce yellow pigment to change color. This also explains why it takes 10 to 25 days to change from white to yellow, while changing from yellow to white only takes approximately 6 days.

Wow! Nature is so intriguing!

_______________________________________________________________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

A Look Of Things To Come

Winged Sumac (Rhus copallina), putting on a display appropriate for the end of summer. Many shades of green, including chartreuse, yellows melting into orange, orange becoming red. Luscious autumnal colors. Happening now. Not the entire expanse of leaves but just here and there. Oh, season change! I LOVE IT!

_______________________________________________________________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

American Lady On Lavender

So many stunning butterflies. This is one of those beauties. An American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis). These three images, the same butterfly on Lavender. Mmm, can you smell it?!

The American Lady has a wide distribution, found from southern Canada, down into the United States, and further into northern South America. Somehow some manage to be seen in Europe, Hawaii, and some of the Caribbean Islands.

As butterflies, American Ladies live a short life of six to twenty days. During that time they feed on flower nectar of Dogbane, Aster, Goldenrod, Marigold, Pearly Everlasting, Common Milkweed, and other flowers.

Decorating roadsides, sunny open spots, gardens, old fields, meadows, forest clearings, and stream beds, during their short life.

_______________________________________________________________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

Trying To Be Patient

Sitting here twiddling my thumbs as my computer works with my external hard drive, which is filled with my many, many, many photographs. There are inconsistencies (groan) that it is dealing with. This will take hours to fix. In the meantime, here are a couple pictures that are a treasure to me. A baby Common Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina), that GrandCamper and I found two years ago.

Take a look at the post I made, back on June 21, 2021, about this little turtle and the adventure GrandCamper and I had turtle-wise that day. You can find it at brendaclem.com/baby-common-box-turtle/. Enjoy the reading, and the pictures, they’re very special to me!

To Each His Own

Butterflies on the road going up the mountain. The one on the left a Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis), the one on the right a Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele).

Both these butterflies love to hang out at mud puddles, rotting fruit, and in this case, on scat. All are a source of nutrients for the winged creatures. To each his own!

_______________________________________________________________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!