Around the Yard

Working from home, which I will be doing until at least next September, I spend quite a bit of time in the yard. Breaks that used to take place in the office lunch room or wandering outside the office building now occur in the yard.

And that's a good thing.

Here's some of what I've been seeing ...

Not a tiny pinecone, but Frass. I've been seeing Frass all about the yard, but I've not been able to find the producers. But it is good to know the caterpillars are there.

I am still seeing caterpillars. This Smartweed Caterpillar is still munching away on the pond reeds.

And Yellow bear Caterpillars ...

... are all over the yard.

Other critters visiting ...

A rather devilish looking White-tailed Deer in the not yet deer fenced area of the yard. Look how skinny it is. It is really quite sad. New Jersey has a deer density that is often greater than 100 deer per square mile. The overpopulation is not good for the deer or the other critters that share the forest. A healthy population, not just for deer but for the entire ecosystem, is one tenth that number (references here and here).

Another Northern Short-tailed Shrew. And another dead shrew. This one likely met its fate at the paws of Max. This is not a good thing. 

Snakes have been slithering about the yard.

This Eastern Garter Snake lives just outside the garage in the back garden.

This snake skin was next to the bench in the Bench Garden.

And I think this tail is that of a Black Racer, which was hanging out by the Fish Pond for several days.

I'll end this episode with one of my favorite yard flowers ...

... Indian Pipe, which is popping up in the woods behind the "Hermitage".

We are very lucky to have such a wonderful property.

Caterpillar

I was doing some yard work today when I spotted this:

Frass. Rather large frass at that.

So I looked up. And saw this:

An Imperial Moth Caterpillar.

A rather large caterpillar. In the pine tree outside our living room.

Not the first one. Hopefully not the last. 

I'll be looking next September.

Caterpillar

Later, while heading out to do a final bit of work in the yard, I spotted this:

A caterpillar. A rather small caterpillar.

A Wooly Bear. 

It looks like it's gonna be a warm winter.

Because of global warming. Not because of the orange bits in a caterpillar. 

Caterpillars

While out and about in the yard back in July, I noticed a wild violet covered in caterpillars.

There were more under the leaves.

These are Variegated Fritillary, Euptoieta claudia.

This plant was growing in our parking area. And while there were plenty of caterpillars on this day, I had not noticed them prior. And these are noticeable critters. And when I went out the next day with a 'real' camera, they were nowhere to be found.

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You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.

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You can blame my friend Ann-Marie for all these caterpillar posts, as it was she who prompted me to look for them. 

Caterpillars

Recently our friend Ann-Marie emailed inquiring as to the number and variety of caterpillars in our yard (as mentioned in the Wasps post). I replied that I hadn't really spent much time in the yard. We had spent over a month of the summer traveling and when we were home the weather was such that we stayed in the air-conditioned house.

But I told her I'd keep an eye out. And I did.

And here is some of what I found.

One of the first critters I spotted was the poorly named Yellow Bear.

Highly variable in coloration, I believe the above three individuals are all Yellow Bears. With only the last living up to the name.

This rather colorful individual is a Smartweed Caterpillar which turns into the Smeared Dagger Moth.

This Io Moth caterpillar was at the base of one of our side doors onto the deck. I relocated it, carefully as this bristles can be unpleasant, to a more suitable location.

This is the Giant Leopard Moth, in caterpillar form.

I mentioned in the Failure post that we've a number of Monarch Butterflies about the garden. 

We also have the caterpillars munching away on the Milkweed in our gardens.

And finally Black Swallowtail Caterpillars ...

... in multiple instars. 

And there are plenty of butterflies and moths flying in the yard, so I'm sure that are many caterpillars I'm not seeing.

But I'll keep looking.

Frass

 In the Warming Up post I noted the caterpillars which were quite numerous on the trail.

The same was true in our campsite.

On the ground.

Climbing trees. It took a conscious effort to avoid squishing them.

We think it was the heavy rain that knocked them out of the trees to the forest floor. And we were surprised that the birds were not gobbling them up.

But even before we saw them we new they were there. Because of this:

That little round thing, that's "frass". Caterpillar poop. And it was raining down on us at the site.

All those black dots on top of the tent, frass that has fallen and hasn't yet been blown off.

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Our friend Ann-Marie recently emailed us, inquiring, among other things, as to the caterpillar numbers in our yard. It has been so hot this summer we've not spent as much time in the yard as in past years. And we've been away for over a moth this summer. Notwithstanding, it does seem as if numbers are down this year. But not in the Franconia Notch section of New Hampshire. There are plenty up there!

Io

In the How to Spot a Caterpillar post there were at least ten Io caterpillars munching away on the False Blue Indigo (which bit is false, the blue or the indigo?).

Well several have survived the warbler onslaught. Continuing to munch away.

We look forward to seeing them at our moth light next spring.

How to Spot a Caterpillar

Patty was doing some yard work when she noticed these little black bits. Frass, aka caterpillar poop.

Clue #1.

Note also the leaf scraps. Warning, messy eaters above.

Then she looked for the munched upon leaves.

Clue #2.

One you find the food plant it is just a matter of looking leaf by leaf until you find the critter responsible. In this case the food plant is Baptisia australis, False Blue Indigo.

And that's it. Just three steps. Find poop and bite marks and then spot the caterpillar. Easy-peasy.

Or as it were in this case, critters. Note the frass pellets on the leaf at the lower center, and the size relative to the pooper. Imagine if your poop was that big (I don't want to know!).

Also note the leafless stalks. Munch, munch munch.

(We're gonna need a caterpillar fence ...)

Patty and I spotted six frass machines munching away.

Soon enough they'll begin their transmogrification to Io moths. A magical transformation indeed.

One Less Lep

Lepidoptera ("Lep") is the order of insects which includes both butterflies and moths. And we have plenty of each in the yard. And we also have their predators. Many, but not all, of which are birds.

You might recall the Yard Critter post, Mason Wasp, where I wrote:

Mason Wasps larvae consume living but paralyzed caterpillars. The female Mason Wasp lays her egg in the chamber. She then hunts for caterpillars and uses a potent venom to paralyze her prey. When the larvae hatch they feed on the living albeit paralyzed caterpillar.

If you don't recall it the click the link and go read it. This post will still be here.

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Welcome back.

While working on repairs to Magnus's enclosure, I spotted a Mason Wasp with said caterpillar* prey.

I was working in the garage, out of the sun, assembling the new enclosure covers. When I saw the wasp bumbling along.

You try flying while carrying something your size with your mouth.

It landed on this wooden table just outside the garage. I though it was looking for an old Carpenter Bee hole (the 'sawdust' is from such a hole). But it wandered around and then flew off. 

Perhaps I frightened it?

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The new covers, along with some other repairs.

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* I know not what species. If you know let me know please. Either in the comments or by email. Thanks.

More Caterpillars

I mentioned that I've a significant backlog of images to get to, which includes a bunch of caterpillar images from earlier this year. I've also mentioned that I've been walking most mornings. And this post combines both, walking and caterpillars.

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A Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar. The moths are very common in the yard, coming to our sheet when we set up the moth light.

A very common cat this year, the Turbulent Phosphila. These were my walking companions on many a stroll.

These next two may be the same species, Yellow Bear, which is highly variable in appearance. And not always yellow.

Now, the top one also looks a bit like the Salt Marsh Caterpillar, but as we do not live near a salt marsh I went with the Yellow Bear. Of course I could be wrong about both. Feel free to provide your ID in the comments.

A Scalloped Sack-Bearer, one I've not found in the yard. Yet. I'll be looking, although it will probably be next fall before I find one, as caterpillar season is pretty much over for this year.

A Luna Moth Caterpillar. The moths are spectacular and we had a large number of them in the yard this year, so no surprise to find the caterpillars as well.

A Red-humped Caterpillar, also a common critter in our yard.

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I'm not sure why so many caterpillars wander out onto the road. Perhaps because it is warm? But they are exposed to predators. And cars, although I don't see many squished cats on my walks, unlike with frogs and snakes (sadly). That said, I enjoyed seeing them as it broke up the monotony of walking the same route everyday.