Tag Archives: caterpillars

More Hammock Adventures

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Guess who finally found time to swing in the hammock again and guess what she found????

You guessed it, another caterpillar spinning its cocoon in the blanket I pulled out of the  chest to throw over me! (You may recall my first encounter I describe HERE.)  Forgottenman just had to try to determine what kind of caterpillar it was, with no success. I then was driven to trying the same and the closest I could get to a possible solution was a silkworm.  At one stage, their cocoon looks like this, only white. But the caterpillars look a bit alike and many years ago Neill James did import mulberry trees and started a silk industry here. I don’t believe it has survived, but perhaps one of the moths did!  Forgottenman thinks I’m wrong and he’s probably right. Nonetheless, here is a silkworm photo I found online:

And a silkworm.

Here is an excerpt from THIS story about Neill James, an American expat who came to Ajijic in 1943 and who had a huge influence here.

A Strange Occurrence

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It is getting dark now and cool, so I got a blanket out of the metal chest I keep in the hammock gazebo for this very purpose.

I climbed into the hammock and of course Coco jumped up as well.  Once I managed to wrestle the blanket out from under him, I tried to open it up but it stubbornly refused to be unfolded!  I pulled and pulled and finally was able to pull it apart. It was as though something was gluing it together.  I investigated and found a thick glob which I pulled off the part of the blanket it still clung to and this is what I found:

A huge caterpillar had woven its cocoon into the fabric of the blanket!!!

I again tugged very hard to get it to release its hold, photographed it and thew it onto the lawn. Then I tossed the blanket out to cover my legs and feet, but alas, It again would not fully unfold itself.  So I investigated and found a second cocoon!  Here it is.

Now I am comfortably covered against the air getting ever cooler but alas, the mosquitos have arrived and in spite of Coco’s ever vigilant snapping to capture them,  in this Dengue area, I’ve decided it is time to go up to the house.

UPDATE: I found another one!

Nature Photo Challenge: Patterns

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A different variety of butterfly visits in a cycle every year.
Ah, that Amazon Jungle trip..and exotic new bugs!
A visitor by my kitchen door. Gorgeous little guest.
Probably my alltime favorite, captured on a soda straw at my favorite beach resturant in La Manzanilla
Pretty, but painful!
Do you see a caterpillar in this photo or just the stamen of a flower?

I got a bit carried away, initially intending to only post photos of caterpillars with interesting patterns, but then a few butterflies flew in followed by beetles and bees and wasps and pretty soon I had a crowd.  I’ve been fascinated by the incredible number of insects there are in Mexico. I believe all of these beautiful creatures were photographed in my own yard except for the fifth one of the huge hopper on the hand which was photographed in the rainforest in Peru. So, here they are, Denzil!!! Thanks for the prompt

 

For Denzil’s Nature Photo Challenge: Patterns

Seasonal Hunting Party

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What is Pasiano looking for??? Click on photos to read the story.

What is Paciano hunting for in the Virginia Creeper?
Hard to find in the dense foliage.
But here is evidence of what he is hunting: its droppings littering the terrace and the table beneath the vine
In two stages. Here are two that he removed from the vine, but where is the one that got away?
Mystery solved. All in all, he removed about a dozen of them, which I safely relocated in the spare lot. How could we kill anything that turns into something that looks like a hummingbird? Unfortunately, I’ve never gotten a photo of one.
Here is an image of hummingbird moth by Graehem Mountenay. I’ve never been able to capture one and have seen only one in 22 years. They must be present, though, judging by the dozens of their caterpillars that we remove from my Virginia creeper each year.

Daily Funnies

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Click on photos to enlarge.

Couldn’t resist these caterpillars to go with the photo of the hornworm caterpillar I published a few days ago. He wanted to join his cartoon comrades, so here he is again.

Virginia Creepers: FOTD, Aug 21, 2020

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Yes, the vine is a Virginia Creeper, but it hides creepers of a different variety. They are hornworms–the larvae of the hummingbird moth. Every year around this time they come here to dine on the Virginia Creeper, which would be no problem except for the little round balls of excretions they leave all over my terrace and patio table. We find and relocate them to the spare lot. Since the patterns on the four colors of larvae are the same, I’ve always thought they are stages of coloration of the one caterpillar. The fourth color is vivid green. I’ve done blogs on them before. I can find no mention of this elsewhere, although I have seen the larvae pictured on the internet in all of the colors except red. At the largest stage, they are 3 to 4 inches long.

For Cee’s FOTD

Wild and Weird!!!

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Click on first photo and arrows to enlarge all .

For Sunday Stills: The Wild and Weird Ones

Hornworms: Creepy Crawlers for Sure!!

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Click on photos to enlarge.

Here is the first and tiniest stage of the hornworm or hummingbird moth caterpillar.

Caterpillar lineup. Hard to believe these are all the same caterpillar in different stages.

For the Friday Fun Creepy Crawlers prompt.

Seven Day Challenge, Day 3

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I received this challenge from my friend Alex Solomon.  Okay, girl, here goes.  Hard for me to post with no words, but. . . . .“Seven days. Seven black and white photos of your life. No people. No explanation. Challenge someone new each day.”

IMG_1473

Today, I inviteAngloswiss to join the 7 Day Photo Challenge.

Hummingbird Moth Caterpillar: One Word Photo Challenge: Insect

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I’ve been waiting to use these photos snapped a couple of weeks ago.  I am fascinated by hummingbird moth caterpillars ( also known as hornworms or tomato hornworms) and in spite of the fact that I’ve been taking photos of their different stages for 16 years, I’ve still never seen a moth! Unfortunately, these fellows make a terrific mess on my patio table or I’d leave them alone. You can see the large brown pellets they leave in two of the photos, and caterpillar poop on my patio table is just not a pleasant prospect. As it is, Pasiano goes on a Virginia creeper safari whenever we see evidence of them, then puts them down on the lot below me. I even found one myself this year! They are outer space-looking, don’t you agree? They are all different stages of the same caterpillar. Click first photo to enlarge all. You won’t be sorry. They are fascinating creatures.

(Click on first photo to create a slide series, then click on right side of each photo to go on to the next. All will be enlarged.)

until you have something to compare it to.

 

 

 

For the Insect challenge.