Eudryas unio (Pearly Wood-nymph)

This gorgeous pair was sitting on an aster leaf in a Pike County Wetland.

Manduca Moth

I think this guy is a Manduca sexta (Carolina Sphinx). We found it at work, resting on a wall. I put it in the frig for a short bit so that I could get some pictures to help with identification. Carolina Sphinx is also known as the Tobacco Hornworm when it is a caterpillar. Despite the name "Tobacco Hornworm", this caterpillar is one of the hornworms frequently found on tomatoes. Tomato Hornworms are closely related and look very similar.

Manduca sexta = Carolina Sphinx Moth = Tobacco Hornworm
Manduca quinquemaculatus = Five Spotted Hawkmoth = Tomato Hornworm

Wikipedia had a mnemonic for separating the caterpillars; Tobacco Hornworms have straight lines (7) like cigarettes, while Tomato Hormworms have 8 "V's" like Vine rippened tomatoes. The specific epithets also help keep them straight; the M. sexta moth has six spots on its abdomen, while the M. quinquemaculatus has five.

The idea of being a victim of a parasitoid makes these caterpillars morbidly fascinating. It seems like more often than not, these caterpillars have wasp eggs on their back that will hatch and eat the caterpillar from the inside-out while it is living. It was nice to see one of the moths that survived up-close.

Orange Wing

Orange Wing (Mellilla xanthometata) near Herrick, Illinois.


An Orange Wing checked me out while I was getting ready to work. Did my safety vest make him feel like he had found a fellow orange-loving friend, or was he just attracted to the sweat on the shoulder strap? My Peterson Field Guide to Moths lists them as common, and they most certainly are, but I had never noticed one before.

Grab Bag

There is no real theme to this blog post. I just wanted to get these off my desktop and into a post.
This is a White Marked Tussock Moth (Orgyia leucostigma) that I found while working in Noble County, Indiana. Apparently, this is a very common caterpillars on many of our deciduous trees. This guy was on a Black Cherry. I didn't handle this guy, but I hear that the hairs can be very irritating to skin.

This is our one non-native Orchid in our area. I was still pretty excited to see it while we were on vacation in Canada. After I saw the first one, I started seeing it much more commonly. Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine) is named after its resemblance of flower color to an unrelated European flower.

This is a Click Beetle (Elateridae) that I found while hiking near Crystal River, Florida. It might even be an Eyed click beetle (Alaus ocuilatus), solely based on looking at pictures on google. I didn't have the nerve or opportunity to make it click. It soon flew off. It is hard to tell from the picture, but he is a pretty big beetle, just under two inches, I'd guess.

Grab Bag of August Leps

Butterfly and caterpillar pictures have been piling up on my SD card, waiting to be identified. I believe that the next three photos are of a Tawny Emperor (Astrocampa clyton). There doesn't seem to be too much of difference between this and the Hackberry Butterfly (Astrocampa celtis). Both are supposed to be common, with the Hackberry being more common. These guys seemed to lack the two basal spots in the discal cell, so I guess they are Tawny Emperors.

I guess this one is just a darker Tawny Emperor.


These butterflies were photographed in Clark County, Indiana along the Ohio River, near George Rogers Clark's cabin.

Another example of a food plant making caterpillar identification easy, this is a Catalpa Sphinx (Ceratomia catalpae) munching on a Catalpa in Jennings County, Indiana.


I see them everywhere, but I haven't gotten a chance to photograph Common Sulphurs (Colias philodice philodice) before. This butterfly was on a wingstem flower in Clark County, Indiana.


Northern Pearly Eyes (Enodia anthedon) were flitting through the floodplain woods in Clark County, Indiana. They kept disappearing before I could get a good look. This pair landed on a vine long enough to get a picture.




A Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) paused as it was passing through an emergent wetland in Sullivan County, Indiana.

American Snout (Libytheana carienta) on a Pokeweed inflorescence in Clark County, Indiana. This is the second one I have seen this summer. I love their 'nose'.


I think this is a Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba), an introduced cutworm. I found him on a split on a tomato. Joy was happy she did not cut through the tomato and the caterpillar in one slice.


Another caterpillar from the garden, I think this is a Yellow Bear, aka Virginian Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica). These are exceedingly variable, from black, orange, yellow, beige, to white. I found him eating on our basil.


This little skipper landed on my finger and stayed there for a couple minutes while I was working in Clark County, Indiana. I have no idea what he is, but up close he was very cute.

Update (09/04/10)

Megan McCarty suggests that the skipper is a Northern Broken-Dash (Wallengrenia egeremet).

For those of you who have made it this far, here is a caterpillar quiz. I haven't been able to figure out this caterpillar yet. He was on Wingstem in a floodplain in Sullivan County, Indiana. Any help would be appreciated.

Update (09/14/2010)

Janet Creamer of Indy Parks Nature Blog submitted the identity of Melanchra adjuncta, Hitched Arches. Looks pretty close on Bug Guide. Thanks, Janet!

August Caterpillars

I think I am learning the lesson to pay attention to the food plant. Makes sense.

This guy was munching on Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) in the floodplain of the Lost River in Orange County (the OC). I believe it is a Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) caterpillar, whose head just looks dark in the photo. (Same caterpillar above and below.)

I love the spines and colors on this guy. All Polygonia overwinter as adults, which is pretty cool. Elm and Hackberry are their usual food plants, but hops and nettles are also frequently eaten.

Another from the Brushfoot family, I think this is a Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia). Also from the Hoosier National Forest down in Orange County. An interesting fact from Caterpillars of Eastern North America by David L. Wagner is that no stage of this butterfly is able to withstand freezing. Each year this butterfly must recolonize its range.

The food plant helped me get straight to this caterpillar. These black caterpillars were munching away on Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia). The adult Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) looks a lot like a Pearl Crescent off-hand, so I'll have to be more careful in the future.

Wasn't too hard to identify this Danaus plexippus, next to a lot of Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata).

Banded Tussock Moth (Halysidota tessellaris) that seems to have lost some setae, possibly in a scuffle with a predator. This caterpillar frequently sits out in the open, on the upper surface of the leaf, suggesting that they are unsuitable prey.

July Caterpillars

My attempt to slowly learn caterpillars (and butterflies, for that matter) is limited to keeping my eyes open for interesting looking individuals, taking their picture, and looking them up in my book. Here are two recent ones.

Unexpected Cycnia (Cycnia inopinatus)
Goose Pond, Greene County, Indiana


Spotted Tussock Moth (Lophocampa maculata)
Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

Clymene Moth

Heather spotted this little moth in a woodlot outside of Defiance, Ohio. We had no clue what it was, but googling 'cross moth' got me to Clymene Moth (Haploa clymene). I love the information age.

Luna Moth

It is always fun to see a Luna Moth. Green's Bluff Nature Preserve, Owen County.

Rosy Maple Moth

Pretty crazy colors!
(and fuzzy, too!)

Hummingbird Moth by a Monarda flower