Check out this wee beauty! It's another one of those "omigosh, I took a picture of it" moments from my archives. The Big Guy (my hubby) told me that this was a moth larvae when I saw it in our backyard last fall, and I couldn't believe that something this pretty was just a "common" moth. Surely it had to be an amazing and rare(ish) butterfly?!
The time arrived earlier today for me to do that research. Sure enough, this wee fuzz ball is indeed, a moth. Evidently, it manages to get along by becoming a bit toxic to birds, etc. and tasting nasty due to how it processes and morphs the food it eats into its body!
That's "Sarah 'splainin" for you. The quality of my scientific explainations will thrill your inner kindergartener. For a more detailed and accurate bit of information, here's what inaturalist.org says about this "Banded Tussock Moth" caterpillar once it's all grown up. You can find images of that creature in the link provided. We're just looking at the marvelous critter I took pictures of last summer.
Halysidota tessellaris, the banded tussock moth, tessellated halisidota, or pale tiger moth, is a moth in the family Arctiidae. Like most species in this family, it has chemical defenses it acquires from its host plants, in this case, alkaloids (Weller et al., 1999, Hristov and Conner 2005), at least in the adult. The brazen behaviour of the larvae also suggests chemical protection in this stage, although they have not been analyzed for alkaloid content.
Another interesting note: Butterfly and Moth larvae are both considered "caterpillars". For some reason I thought that only butterflies were once upon a time caterpillars. However, not all caterpillars spin cocoons! According to Katie Piercy, a conservationist in the UK, "butterfly caterpillars do not weave any kind of cocoon, they simply using silk to keep themself in place."
Furthermore, most moth caterpillars will burrow underground and rise up when they've got those lovely wings. I realize that most of you probably already know this, but I'm finding out more and more as I grow along!
Thank you, so much, for reading and I always welcome your comments!
Take a look at @Labyrinths when you have a moment, and join our labyrinth community on HIVE if you're interested. We just started it, so there's not much going on yet, but if you're ever in the need for a "down to earth" (but not too earthy) psychic, you can find me online at Brigid's Aether.
Any images and graphics (unless noted) are mine.
