While We Are Still Waiting, Part 2

The chrysalis of the one we call Enrico, day 11.

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And Now, A PSA From the Silvery Checkerspots

Butterfly populations are in decline, and while we Silvery Checkerspots are in no immediate danger, we would like to call your attention to the signs in your garden that a joyous Silvery Checkerspot event, the launching of the next generation, is in the making. Among our host flowers is the Purple Coneflower that so many of you love. The female lays a number of eggs in a batch on the underside of a leaf. 

"Will you please excuse me?! I am laying eggs here!"

Unlike the Monarch caterpillars, we think our offspring do better when they stick together. They neither grow as large as the Monarch caterpillars, nor are the poisonous, so we opt for safety in numbers. But being youngsters, they sometimes wreak havoc and tend to leave a mess. You might even mistakenly think your Coneflower has succumbed to some terrible disease and needs to be ripped out of the garden. 

But we are here to report that No! Your plant is fine, and happy little bundles of joy are just fattening up  on its leaves!

So please,  the next time you see your Purple Coneflower near death, think of us, the Silvery Checkerspots, and we promise we will bring joy to your garden for years to come. Thank you. 

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More Hawk-Moths

Last year there was just one, the Sphinx Hawk Moth. This year, we started running into more. First came the Snowberry Clearwing. Then the similar Hummingbird Moth, who is now a regular visitor and always a delight. And now the Snowberry has returned, shown below with its proboscis covered in pollen from the verbena. 

But this is a weird group, and lately we have been encountering some of its stranger members. One was encountered on a hike to Lost Cove. Rick saw something flitter behind a tree but not emerge. As he slowly rounded the trunk, he saw this shy fellow. We are still waiting on a positive ID. 

And one recent twilight, nearing darkness, a dark and spooky hawk-moth was working its way through the phlox. While not quite the deaths-head hawk-moth (which is not native to these parts) from Silence of the Lambs fame, it is close enough. It is the Rustic Sphinx Moth. 

And sadly, the caterpillar of the Tersa Sphinx Moth, after eating two entire Pentas, succumbed to parasites, but we will never forget him. That's his caboose you are looking at.