Photo: Silver-spotted Skipper Caterpillar, Judy Gallagher
Judy Gallagher is an ASNV board member a a regular surveyor of local wildlife who also captures photos of what she sees, in particular the less common species. Here are some observations from her most recent survey.
Have you ever wondered why you don't see caterpillars nearly as frequently as you see adult moths and butterflies? Caterpillars can't move very fast and can't fly away, so they require strategies to keep themselves from being eaten by predators like birds or other insects.
Caterpillars are often nocturnal, or are cryptically colored, or they hide where predators hopefully won't spot them. This Silver-spotted Skipper butterfly caterpillar hides itself during the day by making a nest out of its host plant's leaves, in this case a Black Locust. The caterpillar excretes silk and ties together several leaves, thereby eluding most birds. But this strategy does not deter wasps who love to dine on caterpillars or capture them to feed their young. Many wasps find caterpillars by the smell of their poop. The Silver-spotted Skipper caterpillar has devised a way to avoid wasp predation: they throw their poop as much as 30 body lengths away from their leaf nest. I hope to someday get a picture of that!
Silver-spotted Skipper Caterpillar, Judy Gallagher
While watching another insect, I was distracted by a bee flying by with a flash of green beneath it. It was a Leaf-cutter Bee, which as the name implies uses its mouthparts to cut pieces of leaves. The female brings the leaf back to her ground nest as shown here and uses it to line and create cells within the nest. She will lay one egg in each cell and provide a stash of pollen as food for each bee larva. The second picture shows her emerging from the nest to go and cut another leaf. In the time I watched, she came back to the nest 14 times, each time bringing a leaf. Between cutting leaves, creating a nest with cells and providing pollen for her young, she truly is busy as a bee.
Leaf-cutter Bee entering nest, Judy Gallagher
Leaf-cutter Bee emerging from nest, Judy Gallagher
View all of Judy’s Observations from Meadowood articles here.