Page 132 of 561

Bug of the Week: Moth Caterpillars

July 22, 2015 / Roberta / 0 Comments

As our last post for National Moth Week, which is going on now, let’s take a look at some caterpillars that turn into moths.

1. Family Saturnidae

Remember these large moths from our moth identification post I? As you might imagine, the caterpillars are also large when they are mature.

Take the captive-reared cecropia moth caterpillars in this video, for example.

They will form a cocoon and then eventually emerge as a cecropia moth.

(Public domain photograph of cecropia mothÂ byÂ Tom Peterson, retrieved from Wikimedia.)

Saturnid moth caterpillars can have various spiky projections, like these Zephyr Eyed Silkmoth larvae that look thorny (Automeris zephyria).

2. Family Sphingidae – called sphinx moths, hawk moths or hummingbird moths

Sphinx moth larvae or caterpillars are sometimes called hornworms.

Examples include the white-lined sphinx caterpillar,

and tobacco or tomato hornworm larvae.

Hornworms are named for the spike-like projection at the rear end of the abdomen.

Some species have a similar shape, but may lack the spike, like this rustic sphinx caterpillar.

3. Family Erebidae -Tussock and Tiger moths

Tussock moth caterpillars often have tufts of “hairs,” like this hickory tussock moth caterpillar.

Tiger moth caterpillars are also “hairy.” The woolly bear caterpillar is a common example.

4. Family Noctuidae – the noctuids or owlet moths (Moth Identification II post)

Noctuid caterpillars are often mostly bare.

This budworm larva has a few hairs, but they are sparse.

Cabbage looper caterpillars also have only a few sparse hairs.

Note:Â many of the looper caterpillars belong to the family Geometridae (which means “earth measurer.”)

There are many, many more fascinating caterpillars that turn into moths.

Have you seen any interesting caterpillars lately?

Life cycle of the moth post
Samuel Jaffe has photographs and videos of moth caterpillars.
Tom Murray has an extensive page of moth caterpillar photographs.

Seed of the Week: Angel’s Trumpets

July 21, 2015 / Roberta / 0 Comments

Our mystery seeds from last week were from a plant commonly called angel’s trumpets, Brugmansia sp.

These large shrubs or small trees are originally from South America, although I admit that I have only seen them growing in greenhouses.

Brugmansia are called angel’s trumpets because of their extraordinarily large, hanging trumpet-shaped flowers. Plant breeding enthusiasts have developed beautiful hybrids and cultivars with flowers of many colors and shapes.

A relative of datura, all parts of these plants are toxic.

The photograph of the seeds from last week was by Klaus Beyer at PublicDomainPictures.net.

Have you ever grown this plant? What color were the flowers?

Bug of the Week: Moth Identification II

July 15, 2015 / Roberta / 0 Comments

Ready for National Moth Week next week? Visit the kids’ page at the website for a free coloring book to download and cool games to play.

Last week we discussed the identification of moths, part I. Now let’s follow up with a few more common families of moths.

5. Family Geometridae – The geometrids or inchworm moths

Moths in the family Geometridae rest with their wings laid out flat, with both fore- and under-wings exposed. The wings are often “scalloped” or have a characteristic curved shape. These moths usually have wavy stripes on their wings that resemble tree bark or other plant material.

Typical geometrid moth at rest

(Public domain photograph of wavy-lined emerald moth, Synchlora aerata, from Wikimedia)

Not all gemetrids are brown. Some are green, yellow or white.

6. Family Noctuidae – the noctuids or owlet moths

The family Noctuidae contains a huge number of species and recently scientists have been splitting off some species into new families. The Moth Photographers Group has a page with some 390 different species of noctuids to give you a feel for the diversity of the group.

In general, noctuids are medium-sized to small moths. At rest, they fold their wings back, with the fore-wings covering the hind-wings and abdomen.

This is a typical pose for a noctuid moth.

Certain noctuids, like this cabbage looper moth, have a great deal of hair-like scales on their thorax, sometimes forming tufts.

7. Family Notodontidae – the prominents

Members of this family can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from the noctuids. They are about the same size and also fold their wings back. One characteristic that can help separate the two is prominents sometimes hold their hairy legs out in front of themselves at rest.

(Photograph by Alvesgaspar under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license at Wikimedia)

8. Micromoths – Crambidae and Pyralidae

Micromoths are a diverse group of tiny moths comprising many families. Two families, the Crambidae and Pyralidae, can be easier to identify than some of the others because the moths have a distinctly triangular shape when at rest.

Although the sphinx moths can also have a triangular shape, these moths are much smaller.