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Butterfly Garden

Larvae Found on Oak Tree

15 years ago

I found two kinds of caterpillars on an oak tree in a park near my house this week.

The first one I found is a fuzzy cat called The Laugher or Charadra deridens, in the Pantheidae family. It is now in its cocoon.

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Here is a shot of its face which is kind of scary! I had just gone to see "The Phantom of the Opera" on Sunday and when I found this guy, it reminded me of the Phantom after Christine removes his mask! Wild hair and all!

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The other caterpillars I found were in folded leaf nests--very tiny--on new growth. I have had to crop the picture twice so as to get a good view. I have narrowed the ID down to the Erynnis or Duskywing family of skippers.

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I am going to try to raise the three cats I found. So far they are growing, but apparently they will feed all summer! I am putting fresh young Oak leaves in picks to feed them. Wagner says they "hole up in their leaf shelters and fall to the ground with other leaves." So I may not see a butterfly until next spring.

Sandy

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Comments (2)

MissSherry
15 years ago
Hehehehe....the laugher really is funny looking, Sandy - its "face" looks a lot like a salt marsh cat.
I hope you're successful at raising your skipper - let me know how it turns out, because they've been difficult for me in the past.
Sherry
susanlynne48
15 years ago
Sandy, those laughers are really cute. I've always wanted to find one, but don't have many oak trees around here. One just happens to be growing beneath an elm, so I'm letting it develop into a larger tree in hopes of providing cat food! Teehee.

Susan
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?what to do with this little guy?

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