What’s in the Smartweed?

At the very end of the boardwalk which leads into Explore the Wild there is a patch of smartweed. Smartweed, as you know, will make your mouth smart if you eat it. That is, smartweed is hot and spicy and may make your mouth hurt, or feel the heat, should you eat the stuff. I’m convinced that this patch of smartweed remains in the Wetlands due to its undesirable taste. Even the invasive red swamp crayfish shuns the weed (most ofRead more

Smartweed

Last week I tweeted about a Canada Goose apparently eating smartweed in the Wetlands. I also mentioned that not many creatures will eat the pungent weed. Other then a few caterpillars, the Smartweed Caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita) and the Tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens), I personally haven’t witnessed much in the way of smartweed consumption among our fauna (there seems to be a caterpillar adapted to eating just about every plant in existence). There’s little doubt that many creatures use smartweed for cover, shelterRead more

Well, well, look what showed up…

As if the revealing of the Alpacas and the running of the Pumpkin Patch Express weren’t enough excitement for one day, guess what else made an appearance here at the Museum today? That’s right, it’s a Smartweed Caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita). This is one of only two caterpillars, or any other creature, that I’ve seen actually eating smartweed. The other caterpillar is a Tobacco Budworm (Heliothis virescens) which, as the name suggests, eats the buds and flowers of the plant. BothRead more