For those
of you who are not
lepodopterists, ( butterfly crazies) The Mourning Cloak is a butterfly that is very good at hiding it's beauty. It has rather drab wings with a yellowish or
grey outer edge. However! Look closer and you will see
DAZZLING iridescent blue spots all along the edge, just inside of the yellowish trim.
NOTE how the light hits the butter will depend on what color you see!)They are usually the first butterfly we see around here because they overwinter as adults. But this year Cheryl and I have seen none.
But don't right that off as a sad end to the story! I have counted
11 YES! Eleven! Larvae along the edge of the house! I was very excited to see the first one, and then they started popping up all around.
Well, after several days, none of them have pupated into the chrysalis. In fact, some look rather sickly. I'm not sure what is wrong or how many will make it to adulthood, but my fingers are crossed to get at least several. As of now they still look like larvae dangling from the siding.
I have heard of insects that feed on the larvae,
not to mention the spiders that are around here. But if the Caterpillar is not close to any webs, I'm not sure the spider would do anything to them. We'll see. As of now, I'm keeping a close eye on them and helping out any that fall off onto the ground.
( Just a note. These pictures were borrowed off the net. My pics turned out bad and I don't have any pics of the adult at this time. But what the heck at least you know what I'm talking about)
of you who are not lepodopterists, ( butterfly crazies) The Mourning Cloak is a butterfly that is very good at hiding it's beauty. It has rather drab wings with a yellowish or 
grey outer edge. However! Look closer and you will see DAZZLING iridescent blue spots all along the edge, just inside of the yellowish trim. NOTE how the light hits the butter will depend on what color you see!)They are usually the first butterfly we see around here because they overwinter as adults. But this year Cheryl and I have seen none.
But don't right that off as a sad end to the story! I have counted 11 YES! Eleven! Larvae along the edge of the house! I was very excited to see the first one, and then they started popping up all around. 
Well, after several days, none of them have pupated into the chrysalis. In fact, some look rather sickly. I'm not sure what is wrong or how many will make it to adulthood, but my fingers are crossed to get at least several. As of now they still look like larvae dangling from the siding.
I have heard of insects that feed on the larvae, 
not to mention the spiders that are around here. But if the Caterpillar is not close to any webs, I'm not sure the spider would do anything to them. We'll see. As of now, I'm keeping a close eye on them and helping out any that fall off onto the ground. ( Just a note. These pictures were borrowed off the net. My pics turned out bad and I don't have any pics of the adult at this time. But what the heck at least you know what I'm talking about)
1 comment:
beautiful - yes please dont mention the spiders
Post a Comment