Odds and Ends
Cinnamon is driving me crazy. We have a new futon and she loves it. Unlike our old couch, she can hang out under the frame and surprise us by nudging our ankles for fun. Often, I look down between my legs and see her tocks kicked out beneath me (as seen above). I have a small bottle of lotion that I use on my face--it's expensive, it's cruelty free, good SPF, hypo--allergenic, blah blah blah. I always get cruelty free no matter the expense--animals should not have to suffer through cosmetic testing for my vanity. Yesterday, I dropped the lotion and it rolled under the futon, Cinnamon made a jump for it. When she first reached it, her dew flap caused it to roll further and she chased it. When she caught up to it, she started chewing the dispenser. "Hey!" I yelled. "That's not your's." Knowing she was in trouble, she grabbed the lotion with her mouth, and ran away to escape into her Cottontail Cottage. I got it back, but the danger of buying expensive cruelty free products, is that your pets often want to eat them.
There are a lot of eastern bluebird flocks on the move in Minnesota right now. Many will head further south, perhaps not far (I remember seeing them in winter in Indiana) but some bluebirds will stay in southern Minnesota if they can find enough food.
Yesterday on my bike ride, I found this sphinx moth caterpillar running across the trail--I think it's a galium sphinx moth. I've reading about them on different bug forums and am going to get him to pupate and overwinter it. Anyone have any tips? It's a dynamite looking caterpillar.
posted by birdchick at 10:24 AM
11 Comments:
Bunny butt.
Love the picture of the Bluebird,seems I cannot see enough of them.The caterpillar looks quite colorful.
That IS an impressive caterpillar. No tips, alas...
That's a gorgeous caterpillar! What a find.
Very cool caterpillar. It's always a treat to find a crazy looking one like that. Coincidentally, I just posted a pic of a Falcon Spinx Moth caterpillar yesterday on my blog.
There were gobs of bluebirds at Worth Park in Golden Valley this morning.
Cool cat! There have been a lot of nifty insects around this year that I've never seen before-- I don't know if it's just that I never noticed them, or something else.
I saw a neato Pandorus Sphinx earlier this summer, but can't offer much more than that.
loved the pics of the birds. so pretty. asked my husband (entomologist) about your caterpillar question...and here in Hawaii, he says they use vermiculite as the media in which to allow caterpillars of this type to burrow into...the thing is what he doesn't know is if your caterpillar requires a freezing cold spell & if overwintering in doors would make your caterpillar stop development after it pupates. And he also says he doesn't know if it does require being out of doors how deep the soil should be. really cool looking caterpillar though. wish we couldve been more helpful.
If you house the pupating caterpillar in an "insect house", please make sure that the "house's" volume is large enough to allow the adult moth to exercise its new wings when it emerges from the cocoon.
When the imago emerges, its wings will at first be soft, compressed, and rumpled, from having been in the cocoon. During the first ***few*** minutes after hatching, the imago will beat its wings, pumping fluid into the still-flexible veins, and expanding its wings to their fullest.
If its lodgings are too small during these first few minutes after hatching, the adult's wings will not expand to their fullest. The wings will harden--forever crippled and semi-contracted.
I know this because, inadvertently, I did this to a cecropia moth. May others learn from my cruel mistake.
I seem to remember fluid leaking out of the bottom of the cocoon prior to the imago's hatching. You may not want to display the cocoon on your heirloom teak coffee table without some sort of tray beneath it.
For some reason, the act of hatching seems to take place while one isn't home. I hatched a smaller white, ermine-patterned moth as well as the cecropia. Both hatched while I was out.
Fortunately, the "ermine" (unidentified) moth did not suffer the crippled-wing fate.
pam
thanks for the tips. I live in Minnesota so a freezing period is required. I put in a choice of vermiculite, one of my potted plants, and some paper towels (another suggestion from another site). When the cat pupates, I'll put her in the fridge.
ludensbisto
thanks so much for the tips. I'll make sure to store it in a larger container for when it emerges!
I love all of my reader advice!
You guys are the best!
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