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Museum caterpillars part 1

One of the great things about being an entomology graduate student is that going behind the scenes at natural history museums is not only a perk – it is virtually required. Visiting a museum collection...

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Emerging

It’s springtime, and that means the moths in the lab are emerging from their cocoons. Since it is warmer here in the lab, they tend to emerge a few weeks earlier than they would in the wild. This means...

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Joe Acronicta

We recently received a new friend from Texas – nicknamed “Joe Acronicta” by the collaborator who sent him to us. This is one of my favorite species – Acronicta atristrigatus, also known as the...

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Joe pupates

Joe Acronicta had had enough of us poking and prodding him, and decided to pupate. I know that most Acronicta species pupate by tunneling into soft, dead wood. But usually this is a shallow groove,...

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Texas

Well, we’re off! Ben and I are going to spend 10 days traveling across Texas. We’re armed with several permits (for Big Bend National Park, Texas State Parks, and one National Forest), several...

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Texas Day 1: Abilene

To keep costs down, Ben and I decided to camp for the entirety of our Texas trip (aside from two nights at a colleague’s house). This made our trip feel even more adventurous. We’re used to showing up...

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Waiting patiently

My caterpillar season is starting to gain momentum. Caterpillars are hatching, eating, growing, pooping. Getting eggs in the mail from collaborators. Running around campus to collect plants. And some...

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Green slugs

There are caterpillars called “slug caterpillars” due to their, well, slug-like appearance. They are the Limacodidae, and they are some of the most beautiful and bizarre caterpillars out there. Not to...

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Texas Days 2/3 – Fort Davis

Oh right, Texas! It already feels like so long ago, we’ve been so busy here in the lab. Dedication. Our second stop in Texas was Davis Mountains State Park, in Fort Davis. It was another long drive...

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Happy egg dance

On Saturday night I joined a bunch of entomologists for the 5th Annual Moth Ball in Massachusetts. Lights, sheets, cameras, beer, hotdogs, snacks, and tents for staying overnight. What could be better?...

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Green and orange and purple

Here are some more fun photos of Acronicta lepetita from Texas. Some of them turn orange during their final instar, some stay green, some even turn purple-ish. Luckily this species is quite sedentary,...

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Babies everywhere

300. That is how many little Acronicta hastulifera caterpillars hatched this weekend (click here to see the mother). Actually, there were probably more than 300, but I stopped counting. Developing...

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Beauty

I love this caterpillar. I wish that more than one had survived from the eggs the mother laid, so I could preserve one as a voucher. I was considering preserving this one, but today I noticed it was...

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Fuzzy babies

Lots of fuzzy baby caterpillars here in the lab. Right now these two species look pretty similar, but the differences will start accumulating in the next few instars. Currently they are less than a...

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More travel!

I know, I haven’t even finished my stories about the Texas trip, and now I’ve gone to Colorado for more moth and caterpillar wrangling! All the pictures and stories will keep me busy for a while....

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Hungry caterpillar, as usual

Acronicta lobeliae, enjoying a white oak leaf.

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Stripey

One species on my “must rear because it is so totally awesome” list is Acronicta radcliffei. It is a very close mimic of one or more species in the genus Datana (family Notodontidae), and it appears to...

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Above and below

Acronicta increta on Beech (Fagus). Collected at Cockaponset State Forest, CT

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My little tigers

My supposed Acronicta hastulifera caterpillars are growing up. And growing into very convincing A. dactylina caterpillars. I call them my little tigers A. hastulifera have frosted hairs (hence the...

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Moth Week 2014 – Keene, NH

Moth Week continued for me in Keene NH, the home of The Caterpillar Lab, run by the caterpillar photographer/whisperer Sam Jaffe. Sam is a wonderful naturalist, who ambitiously has undertaken this...

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