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...
View ArticleEmerging
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...
View ArticleJoe 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...
View ArticleJoe 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,...
View ArticleTexas
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...
View ArticleTexas 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...
View ArticleWaiting 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...
View ArticleGreen 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...
View ArticleTexas 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...
View ArticleHappy 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?...
View ArticleGreen 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,...
View ArticleBabies 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...
View ArticleBeauty
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...
View ArticleFuzzy 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...
View ArticleMore 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....
View ArticleStripey
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...
View ArticleAbove and below
Acronicta increta on Beech (Fagus). Collected at Cockaponset State Forest, CT
View ArticleMy 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...
View ArticleMoth 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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