With over 30% of Brits admitting their mother is the most important person in their life and half coming to realise they are indeed turning into their mums, it’s no surprise we don’t scrimp around Mother’s Sunday.
24.07.2023 - 12:07 / hgic.clemson.edu
Many of us enjoy searching for monarch caterpillars on milkweed in late summer and thinking about the next generation of beautiful monarch butterflies. Along the way, one may be surprised to encounter a lesser-known caterpillar getting its fill of milkweed alongside the monarch caterpillars. Milkweed tussock moth, Euchaetes egle, sometimes referred to as the milkweed tiger moth, specializes in milkweeds and dogbanes for larval food. One can find these cute (in my opinion) caterpillars munching away on common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, at the South Carolina Botanical Garden.
Although the adult moth is not particularly exciting in appearance, the late instar caterpillar is quite striking: covered in dense tufts of black, orange, and white. Like monarch caterpillars, the bright, contrasting coloration of the milkweed tussock moth caterpillar signals that its body contains an accumulation of toxic cardiac glycosides from the plants it feeds on exclusively. Even more interesting is that these moths also have an organ that emits an ultrasonic sound, serving specifically to warn bats, a primary predator, of their noxious flavor.
Milkweed tussock moth caterpillars feed in clusters as early instars, and the caterpillars can cause an impressive amount of damage to plants with their strong appetites. Gardeners may be alarmed to see anything other than monarch caterpillars ravenously eating their milkweed. Questions such as “Are they harmful?”, “Should I remove these?” may arise. The answers are: Euchaetes egle are native insects thriving on the plants they have evolved to consume. Although they may devour some of your plants faster than the monarch caterpillars can, milkweed tussock moth caterpillars are not causing actual harm.
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With over 30% of Brits admitting their mother is the most important person in their life and half coming to realise they are indeed turning into their mums, it’s no surprise we don’t scrimp around Mother’s Sunday.
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With its dazzling colors and mesmerizing flight, Hummingbird Moth has captured the attention of nature enthusiasts and scientists alike. So, let’s delve into the fascinating world of the hummingbird moth and discover what makes it so unique!
There are many unique sounds in the world. Our ears are finely attuned to noises of many levels, and some can pick up the faintest sounds. But have you ever heard a screaming caterpillar? We tend to think of butterflies, moths, and other insects as mostly soundless. Some insects like cicadas and crickets are rather noisy, but most are silent. Caterpillar sounds are faint and hard to discern without certain electronic equipment, but recent studies have shown they are there.
The box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis, is a non-native moth that has recently been found in a nursery in South Carolina. Native to eastern Asia, the box tree moth has been present in Canada since November 2018. From August 2020 through May 2021, infested boxwood (Buxus sp.) plants were inadvertently shipped from a grower in Canada to several nurseries in the U.S.; a retail nursery in South Carolina received infested plants in May 2021. As of June 1, 2021, the South Carolina detection is being treated as a regulatory incident, and this pest is not thought to have escaped into the landscape. Clemson’s Department of Plant Industry is investigating plant shipments into and out of the South Carolina nursery to determine if infested material may have been inadvertently sold to homeowners and will be monitoring in and around the nursery to ensure this moth has not escaped. If populations are found, a survey and eradication effort will follow.
Did you know this week is National Moth Week? July 17 – 25, 2021, marks the tenth anniversary of National moth week. This program started in New Jersey but now has a global reach. The goal this year is to encourage young people, in particular, to observe and document moths. To that end, they have many resources and tips on their webpage at https://nationalmothweek.org/. In 2019, the South Carolina Botanical Garden participated in this worldwide event by hosting a Magical Moth night in partnership with the Clemson Entomology Club. It was so much fun that we hope to do it again next year.
This is a caterpillar known as the hickory horned devil. The adult is a beautiful moth known as the regal moth (Citheronia regalis), but it is rarely seen due to its nocturnal habit.
This looks a lot like bird poop; however, it’s just a camouflage tactic of the giant swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio cresphontes). This species is often called the “orangedog” as they feed on members of the citrus family throughout their larval stage.
This is the caterpillar of the imperial moth (Eacles imperialis). The imperial moth is one of the largest moths in the Southeast.
Spring is here! All the signs are evident, including walking into caterpillars hanging from trees by slender threads (which happened to me last week). These danglers are often members of the Geometridae family, also known as inchworms or loopers. I love that their Latin name means “measures the earth.” The distinctive gait of these caterpillars makes it seem like they are taking their measuring duties very seriously. First, they deploy their front feet, and then, unlike other caterpillars with intermediate appendages, they pull forward their rear feet. This causes them to arch their bodies in that characteristic manner. Unsurprisingly, this onset of caterpillars coincides with the first flush of spring leaves, a buffet for these newly hatched critters.