skip to main content

Butterfly Garden

Pretty Moth and Beautiful Caterpillar

7 years ago

This moth was hanging out on the garage the other day. I assume it's some type of inch worm/geometer, since it looks similar to a tulip tree beauty - its wingspan was about 3" across -

All it needs it an accent color, like scarlet or royal blue!

Can a caterpillar be much prettier than a black swallowtail?

Sherry

Featured Answer

Mary Leek

7 years ago

My head is hanging low, too, Iris. I would have described the wiggly things as antenna. We've both learned something new and interesting, thanks to Ken.

Mary

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (12)

Mary Leek
7 years ago
Lovely photos, Sherry. Your little cat is a beauty, for sure. Isn't it odd, with such bright colors, that they can hide in plain sight so easily on fennel. :-) Is this the little guy you're raising?

The moth is also beautiful and soooo big. If he were viewed against dead leaves or the bark of a tree, you'd have trouble spotting him. Nature produces such wonders!

Mary
Iris S (SC, Zone 7b)
7 years ago
Black swallowtail caterpillars are beautiful. Have to admit that I am a sucker for the ones with antenna, like the monarch. I think that makes them so adorable.
Related Discussions
Milkweed Tussock Caterpillar Moth
Q
Comments (0)
They are beautiful little creatures, but what is desireable about moths? (They eat a lot of asclepias) Sylvia
...See More
Unicorn Moth Caterpillar
Q
Comments (15)
I found about five of these Unicorn Moth larvae on my Hot Cocoa rose bush and was amazed. The local nursery here in Austin helped me identify it, but couldn't say whether it was harmful, other than defoliating the plant. So I returned it to the garden with my profound apologies to the poor rose bush. I've had a garden for six years now, but have never before seen such a "cat" as ya'll so colorfully call it. But they are so well disguised, they may have been there all along. An incredible critter!
...See More
Polyphemus moth Caterpillar
Q
Comments (10)
Follow up to last year's caterpillars... I ended up with 2 cocoons, which overwintered in a butterfly pavillion on my balcony. Both cocoons were in a birch tree, btw. I clipped the branches they were on and laid them in the pavillion, securing the pavillion so it didn't blow off the balcony. Yesterday one of them eclosed! I didn't even know it until I saw a huge moth hanging on the side of the house and realized the time was here! I ran upstairs and sure enough, there was a partially unfolded polyphemus hanging from the top of the mesh. I left it in the pavillion overnight because it wasn't fully open. This morning I found one outside the pavillion, waiting for the pretty girl to come out and "play". So I used a branch to fish her out of the enclosure and she and her new friend are basking in the sun on the deck. The other hasn't eclosed, but I'll be watching closely.
...See More
Inchworms/ Geometer moth larva/ Worms/ Caterpillars
Q
Comments (11)
Growing flowers to attract the wasps would be a long game. Just buy the wasps. There are plenty of BioControl sellers who specialize in beneficial insects which they ship to you door in a day Because such businesses ship live insects, it is critical they are near you. Do a search on Google. An ecosystem with too many pests is one that needs the balance of more predators. You can make the shift in that balance happen pretty fast if you know what insects you're combating and how to use the predator. They are usually native species as well. Still grow the flowers, to keep the new generation around to breed and lay their own eggs. We have here in Ma a very similar, if not the same, early spring caterpillar pest that can defoliate whole trees during a bad year. For us it's Winter Moth, and the solution is Trichogramma Wasps released very early, as trees start to bud and the caterpillar eggs hatch. They're tiny green inchworms, and even at their largest they're maybe a half an inch long. They like to hang from trees on a silken line, catching in your hair. The first year we had moved into our current home, the infestation was surreal. It was also a pretty windy spring, and to make the wind worse, we are on a lake. The wind blew tons and tons of them onto our deck. By evening one day, our red-stained deck was one mass of writhing green. You seriously couldn't see the wood, no exaggeration. That's the year I learned about BioControl and Trichograma. Nature is wonderful, except when it's too freaky, and I am glad we moved here but even happier for the ability to buy in the good bugs when needed. We've not had another year like that - and though I'm pretty sure it was a once in a decade thing, I also think the wasps were what cut down the levels as fast as they went down in our neighborhood the next year.
...See More
PRO
The Logician LLC
7 years ago
Variations, cats, distribution of this moth here:

http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=6599
MissSherry
Original Author
7 years ago
Oh, wow! I didn't realize there were so many variations of the same species! I usually see tulip tree moths that look like the first picture, this one was different, Larry. Thanks for the link. And I live in southeast MS where many of those blue dots are.

I like monarchs, too, Iris - 'hope I get some this year. Pipevine swallowtail cats have antennae, and I've taken in a LOT of them to raise myself. PVS are one of my favorites.

Yes, Mary, that's the one (and only one) I'm finishing raising, the one I was surprised to find.

Sherry
KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH
7 years ago
Here is a picture of the monarch caterpillar antenna that Iris is a sucker for. ;) They are circled for people who unfamiliar with what they look like.
Iris S (SC, Zone 7b)
7 years ago
Well. Once again I bow my head in shame. I was talking about the wiggly long things.
MissSherry
Original Author
7 years ago
Yikes! 'Must be Mothra in the caterpillar stage!

Who knew about those short pointed things? Ken!

Sherry
KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH
7 years ago
What you actually call the big "antenna" on a monarch has been debated. Tubercle is what works but you also see "filament" and "tentacle." I've seen Monarch Watch's head honcho argue that you should not call them "tentacles" even though his own website has a monarch anatomy page that labels them as "tentacles."

http://www.monarchwatch.org/biology/

Just for fun, here is a page on monarch cats that had extras:
http://www.monarchprogram.org/freak-monarch-caterpillars/

Mary, You have been calling me Ken for years. For a long time, I thought you were referring to somebody else until you posted something that was obviously directed at me. You are not the first to call me Ken but it has never been my name. Just stick to KC. :D
Mary Leek
7 years ago
I do apologize. For some reason, I have it imprinted in my memory you had signed a post with Ken some years back. KC it is.

Mary
KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH
7 years ago
No apology necessary. I'm the one who has not said anything for many moons. Figured I'd pipe up now since Sherry started using it.
MissSherry
Original Author
7 years ago
I thought Ken must be your name, KC, and I just didn't know what the 'K' stood for.

Sherry

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Hummingbird or Moth? See Why You Want Clearwings Around

By Pollination Press LLC

These fascinating moths may be helpful pollinators for your garden. Here’s how to coax them your way

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Pretty Trees for Patios, Paths and Other Tight Spots

Choose trees for their size, shape and rate of growth — or shape them to fit your space. Here's how to get started

GARDENING GUIDES Attract Hummingbirds and Bees With These Beautiful Summer Flowers

By Annie Thornton

Roll out a welcome mat for pollinators to keep your landscape in balance and thriving

GARDENING GUIDES 4 Ways Gardens Can Go Beyond Aesthetic Beauty

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Our landscapes can play an even more meaningful role if we rethink their purpose

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Northern Bush Honeysuckle, a Bronze Beauty

It helps control erosion and takes sun or shade. The butterflies love it. But the best part of this shrub may be the vivid foliage

TREES Great Design Plant: Acer Rubrum Brings Shade and Beauty

By Ellen Sousa/Turkey Hill Brook Farm

Red maple — a fast-growing, low-maintenance Eastern native — has spectacular fall foliage and early-spring flowers that feed pollinators

EDIBLE GARDENS Why Grow Quince? For Beauty, Fragrance and Old-Time Flavor

By Marianne Lipanovich

Delightfully perfumed fruit and lovely spring blossoms make this apple and pear cousin worth a spot in the garden

LANDSCAPE DESIGN These Ideas for Outdoor Screens Prove Privacy Can Be Beautiful

By Lauren Dunec Hoang

Translucent panels, slatted wood, laser-cut metal and plantings offer just the right mix of seclusion and views

FLOWERS 15 Native Flowers That Attract Butterflies

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

By picking plants from this list that are right for your location, you’ll get colorful blooms and support pretty pollinators

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Asclepias Incarnata for a Butterfly Garden

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Beautiful swamp milkweed makes it easy to help monarchs and other pollinators in eastern U.S. gardens

Sponsored

Remodel Repair Construction

9 Reviews

Industry Leading General Contractors in Westerville