IMPERIAL MOTH EGGS AND CATERPILLARS

Hello friends -  I have been busy with programs, moving to a new site at Root's, and exploring nature.  I should have blogged at least twice in July and hope to catch up with that soon - I was at the butterfly walks at Indiantown Gap and saw more regals butterflies than ever before - today I am working with about 50 little caterpillars with more to hatch soon.

One of our friends from our nature club called us about a female Imperial Moth they saw and I told them to put it in a paper bag and fold down the top so no light gets in.  This stimulated the moth to lay her eggs and the following pics show the result.  At this point they are 1/4 to 3/8 inch long.

caterpillar emerging from egg

caterpillar emerging from egg

caterpillars on Norway Maple Leaf

caterpillars on Norway Maple Leaf

close up of caterpillar and empty egg

caterpillar parade

freshly laid eggs

eggs ready to hatch (can you see the little caterpillar?)

These caterpillars change several times before they pupate and I hope to get pics of each stage.

don b

OUT AND ABOUT

As you know I spend as much time out of doors as possible.  Saturday June 29 we had a crowd of about 100 attend our program at Colonel Denning State Park near Newville.  We found many White-marked Moth Caterpillars crawling around the amphitheater,  I brought two home - they both pupated later that night.  They do sting and those who are sensitive to such things can get a painful rash but these guys were kind enough that no one got stung although everyone "played" with them.

Jonas Sauder has a small woodlot on his property and his daughter Katie took Florence and I on a hike to see their Indian Smoke pipes,  This is an unusual plant that I have not seen for 30 years, so I jumped at the chance.  They are a "parasite on a parasite."  They live off of the energy of trees that they steal from fungi attached to the tree roots.  Having no chlorophyll they are ghostly white.  They are an angiosperm (flowering seed plant) but the lack of chlorophyll makes them unique.

Indian Smoke Pipes

White-marked moth

White-marked moth caterpillar