This is interesting....
http://www.naturescontrol.com/...

This is informational....
http://insects.about.com/od/ro...

https://www.bing.com/images/se...

Very interesting articles, Mariposa and Gita; thanks!

Critter, I'll give you one of my egg cases at the seed swap if you remind me.

I forgot to show the woolly bear I found while cleaning up leaves today. It was the largest I've ever seen, close to 2" in diameter. Fortunately, it did not get sucked up by the leaf vac.

Think that is a caterpillar of a Giant Leopard Moth (Hypercompe scribonia). a Woolly Bear relative.

oh, thanks Muddy and David, we found one or two of those as well! Maybe they liked my tall white Nicotiana, and Moonflowers.

My friend went walking Sunday at Greenbury (berry?) Point outside Annapolis near Severn RIver and the bay. Dozens of monarchs!

Thx, Muddy! I'll LYK if I don't find one.

David, good to know what those fat all-black "woolly bears" really are! I've seen the adults -- gorgeous, and so velvet looking that I always want to pet them! http://www.butterfliesandmoths...

sallyg said:oh, thanks Muddy and David, we found one or two of those as well! Maybe they liked my tall white Nicotiana, and Moonflowers.

My friend went walking Sunday at Greenbury (berry?) Point outside Annapolis near Severn RIver and the bay. Dozens of monarchs!

Sally, Igo there all the time. Always see Monarchs. Confirms that many Monarchs are traveling more inland than coastal because of wind/weather patterns. Lots of people walk their dogs there. Area being restored to natural/native.
https://www.wind-watch.org/new...
"Greenbury Point is in a unique spot on the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Flyway.
“It’s a bottleneck for migrants,” explained Colin Rees, past president of the bird club. “There’s always something coming or going.”
As birds head north or south at different times of the year, many stop at or fly over Greenbury Point along the way.
That means that the makeup of the birding population changes, depending on the time of year." "
Members of the bird club led The Capital on a two-hour walk at Greenbury last weekend, pointing out a red-eyed virio, killdeer, a Cooper’s hawk, ospreys, indigo buntings and blue jays." ... there were plenty of butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies, a praying mantis and critter tracks in the mud to check out."

Butterflies I have seen: Monarchs, skippers (silver spot plus 4-5 others), sulfurs, buckeyes, swallowtails including giant, azures, frittilaries, mourning cloak... tussock and sphinx moths, cabbage whites

Would love to meet up for a walk there sometime!
https://www.google.com/maps/@3...

Sally, that would be cool! I googled, and it's about an hour and a half each way for me... however, one of my bestest friends (college roommate) lives en route, so I could break up the trip (or bring her along to share the drive).

Any chance the trails are scooter-friendly? I'm starting to think if this leg muscle fatigue thing is going to continue, I need to get a scooter so I don't keep missing stuff. But first I'm going to try the alternative of getting my mtn bike back into riding shape... I've used it before on trails to save my legs (like 20 years ago, but still!).

Thanks, David, now I know why it was so much larger than the "woolly bears" I normally find.
It was underneath either a pile of windblown leaves on the driveway or under some Lamb's Ears. I put it by the trunk of a large Azalea, but it probably moved on to another winter resting spot.

Gee whiz, Wikipedia says woolly bear caterpillars overwinter as cats -- frozen solid! They thaw, pupate, then have just a few days as adults.

On the North Slope of Alaska there is a species of willow that only grows about 8" tall in the harsh conditions. A species of caterpillar feeds on the willow that only produces foliage for a couple of weeks in the "summer", so the caterpillar eats, freezes for a year, thaws and eats again. Takes as much as 7 years of this to reach maturity. Pretty wild!

That's very interesting!

Saw this beauty on my butterfly bush yesterday, love the 'eyes'.

Buckeye, one of my favorites.

Mark found this little cutie in the open garage, clinging to a wall stud. He was surprised that the bird let him pick it up. After a rest, the bird flew off.
Brown Creeper

How fun! Maybe it's a juvenile who hasn't learned to be afraid of humans.

Saw a Monarch yesterday flitting around the table of Pansies at work.
Seems a bit late

omg, Sally, that is just the cutest little tweetie-pie!

That little bird is SO cute, Sally!!! I had thought that baby birds had all grown up by now. Can this little one make it through the winter?

It does seem late for Monarchs, Gita...hopefully it was just taking a quick pit stop on its way to Mexico.

The bees and I are really enjoying the Symphyotrichum oblongifolium (Aromatic Aster) by my mailbox. (Thanks, Greenthumb!) They've been blooming for about a month and are still going strong.