Top Photo: Pine sphinx moth caterpillar. Three Moths (including specimen above) The caterpillar in the above photo probably just crawled down out of an oak tree and is in search of a safe place to pupate which, reportedly, may take two or more years. (?) If you’ve never heard of a sphinx moth, you’ve probably seen one. The tobacco hornworm is a sphinx moth caterpillar. The moth in the photo below is a Pandora’s sphinx moth (Eumotpha pandoras), all grown up.Read more
Posts tagged: #Virginia Creeper
A Trip to the Mountains?
Thinking of going to the mountains to check out the fall leaves? Why waste precious fuel, money, and time (detouring around rock slides) when you can come to the Museum of Life + Science and see some of the most beautiful colors nature has to offer right here in your own backyard. Don’t believe me? Have a peek below. Convinced? Even if you miss the peak colors, there’s always something going on out-of-doors, up beyond the Main Plaza (where Grayson’sRead more
A Few Flowers and a Photo Quiz
Blue-eyed Grass, Buttercups and Ox-eye Daisy are in flower. Fringe Tree, or Old Man’s Beard, is also in bloom. You can see this small tree or shrub with its unusual, stringy, white flowers on the left side of the path just before entering the Red Wolf Exhibit and next to the path between Catch the Wind and Explore the Wild on the back side of the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. All of the trees on the Explore theRead more
Yellows, Reds, and Browns
The scene is changing rapidly. Although we still have some time to go, the leaves of the various deciduous trees are turning their respective yellows, reds, browns and all hues in between. The Willows are nearly devoid of leaves. What leaves that remain on the Sycamores and Ashes are brown. The Redbuds are yellow-green. The Maples and the Sweetgums are turning yellow, red, and burgundy. Wrapped around the trunks of trees, the leaves of Virginia Creeper are turning brilliant red.Read more