Mourning cloak caterpillars on hackberry, photo’d by Pat Sutton, Goshen, May 20, 2011
Caterpillars become easier to find in late May as more and more species have had time to lay their eggs — and their young time to grow and become more visible.
Chasing larvae is usually a tougher challenge than pursuing adult butterflies, but finding them often makes a “see-it-with-your-own-eyes” ecology lesson. It’s one thing to come across a note in a book that mourning cloaks occasionally feed on hackberry, for example; it’s another kind of experience to see the reality — up close and personal as in Pat Sutton’s cool photo above.
So, on the next cool/overcast day, can you turn over some leaves and see what you find?
David Wagner’s book Caterpillars of Eastern North America (Princeton University Press, 2005) is a superb resource.
Two good on-line sources for caterpillar images and info:
Jim Conrad’s Backyard Nature website
North American Moth Photographers Group
We’ve had some log reports of caterpillars in the last week or so. Keep ’em coming!
jc