My signature is so tiny now. I mean, everyone's is like that but I'm more concerned with mine.
Dave changed it - something about making the site easier to look at on mobile devices.
Well, I've been a little under the weather lately. Not enough to be totally sick or even think about going to the doctor, but a little more than allergies. So I haven't been outside much lately. But I do have a bit of a backlog of pictures, mostly from MOSI. So let's go!
Not this past week, but the one before (Nov. 29), I was Sulphur hunting. My boss actually cut down one of the big Cassias and I was like
We have plenty so that's not the issue. I'm just wondering what she's planning to take its place. So like I've said before, when Cassias and Sennas bloom, you should really concentrate on the flowers because that's where the caterpillars tend to be. Focus on the newer growth, in general. Nobody wants to eat old leaves when they can have new leaves! It's like I tell the kids, "When you go to the salad bar, do you expect fresh veggies or wilted veggies?" Exactly.
Orange-Barred Sulphurs can really blend in, but I've learned to look for the blue pattern on them.
I found this Cloudless Sulphur on a flower, but he was still in his green form. I guess he'd been eating mostly leaves because when they eat the flowers, they turn yellow.
Leaves that have been recently chewed are also worth searching. Another behavior of Sulphur cats is that in the first couple of instars, they tend to like to lay right in the middle of the leaf. This one is sort of doing it. I circled him in the second photo so you guys don't think I'm messing with you.
Now you guys are going to think I'm messing with you. When Sulphur cats hatch, they are very tiny, but they are also very orange. So if you know what to look for, you can find them easier than you might think. Still, there is a part of the plant that looks exactly like them. I need to go out and take a picture of my Senna so you see what I mean. When I first picked this guy up, even I wasn't sure if it was part of the plant or a caterpillar. I poked it with my fingernail and it moved, so it was a caterpillar. It's the orange thing on the top of the green thing in my hand. I told you they were small! His head is pointing upward in the second photo so you can see it moved.
