moths
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Dear Backyard and Beyond
A curious reader writes in with images of a mystery caterpillar she photographed in Central Park in mid-July. Consulting David L. Wagner’s Caterpillars of Eastern North America, a gorgeously illustrated Princeton Field Guide, and bugguide.net, I believe what we have here is a polyphemus moth, Antheraea polyphemus. This is one of the giant silkworm subfamily…
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Night and Day
… you are the one.” All these insects were found in various parts of Massachusetts at the beginning of this month. I am unsure of IDs for the last two. The butterfly may be a pearl crescent. The Dobsonfly at the very top was a good two inches long, one of the weird delights brought…
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Munch, munch, munch
Friends, gardeners, farmers! I come to praise the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, not bury it. You, on the other hand, may be quick to go snicker-snack! That I leave up to you and your conscience. I had been wondering why my sweet frying pepper, a first time plant for me, had not made any fruit…
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Night Flyers
A sampling of the children of the night, all pulled to the lights of Bradford, MA during my recent week away from NYC. This last is a giant crane fly of some kind. I only noticed this detail upon examining the image: the two club-like structures beneath the wings. Then I stumbled across what they…
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Random Arthropods
A jumping spider of some kind; it was hanging on to one of the Wolfe’s Pond Park crew on Sunday. Insects will often use leaves to hide in, make nests, and lay their eggs. So I looked closer at this curled leaf and, instead of caterpillars or other bugs, found a couple of spiders. This…
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Field Trip: Moths, Spider
From inside the house. And running along the ground. There actually seem to be a lot of spiders running on the ground up there.
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Field Notes: In Prospect (plus haiku)
Willow, weep. Grackle, advance. Cocoon, open…. This is somewhat similar to the one I saw last week, but attached to a lamp post instead of suspended from a twig. Also, it’s darker. This one is just as big, though, just over an inch long, half or more wide. A big fat moth? What do you…
Backyard and Beyond 