Caterpillars and Butterflies in the garden
Caterpillar refers to the
larval stage of a moth or butterfly or Lepidoptera.
The word is Latin in origin and
means hairy cat
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Here is a Black Swallowtail caterpillar, Papilio polyxenes asterius. These like the leaves of carrots and parsley.
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Monarch caterpillar or Danaus plexippus is munching away on milkweed. |
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The one on the left is a caterpillar for the Milkweed Tussock Moth. It is covered in little tufts and many tufts along its body. It grows about 2.5 cm. and feeds on milkweed plant. I had to get out my field guide to identify this one. The picture on the right is also a tussock moth, but I haven't figured out which variety yet. |
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I discovered this mourning cloak butterfly by one of my hummingbird feeders which is close to a trellis where the clematis and honeysuckle vine grow. I think it had just emerged as it sat for a long time fluttering its wings, as if drying them and testing them out. This is a fairly large butterfly with a wing span of up to 10 cm. The underside of the wings are brown and from the top the yellow trim and blue spots easily identify it. |
