Remember the cabbage loopers from a few weeks ago?
Now they are moths.
For little brown, boring moths they have some very fancy tufts on their back.
Those are clusters of hair-like scales. Quite the fancy ‘do, don’t you think?
Can you imagine how different the world must look going from tiny caterpillar eyes to big moth eyes? Those are an enormous number of physical changes in a short period of time.
Looking for salad greens in the garden, I noticed something on the radish leaves.
It is a cabbage looper caterpillar, Trichoplusia ni.
The caterpillar is a beautiful shade of green and almost translucent in the light.
Although it doesn’t show as well at this resolution, the details of the head and true legs are amazing.
I found a new pupa nearby. It had been accidentally pulled from its silk cocoon.
Can you see the wing pads?
Instead of finding salad greens, I found other greens instead.
Did you wonder what kind of moth was in the cocoon in the “another lacewing larva†post? I did and so I kept an eye on it. This week a brown moth emerged.
It is a cabbage looper moth, Trichoplusia ni. Check out the punk look. Isn’t that wild?
I didn’t muss this moth up, those are naturally arranged scales. It also has some white markings on it’s wing.
The cabbage looper pupa is pale green with some brown marks on the back and it is hidden under a shield of white silk.
The cabbage looper caterpillar was bug of the week in an earlier post. It is a pale green caterpillar that loops when it walks.
Moths are often ignored because they are small, drab and are most active at night. But as you can see, if you look at them close up, they can be quite fascinating.
If you are interested in finding out more about moths, try:
Discovering Moths: Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Backyard by John Himmelman
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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