I came upon a new caterpillar last week as I was rounding the bend in the path near the Dinosaur Trail. When I say new, I mean new to me, I had never seen this particular species before. I didn’t know what it was. It took nearly a week to determine its identity. I’m confident now in saying that it is an Eastern Panthea, or Tufted White Pine Caterpillar or Panthea furcilla. As one of its names suggest the caterpillar feedsRead more
Posts tagged: #moth
Unknown Miner
Ranger Kristin noticed a white silky substance covering part of the clover leaves at our feet. Bending down to get a closer look we realized that there was something moving under that white substance. It looked to be some sort of larvae, very small larvae. The plant was White Clover (Trifolium repens). The leaves of the plant themselves are small, each leaflet about 15 mm, and in comparison the larvae were elfin. They looked to be about 1 – 2Read more
More things to look for
While walking up the boardwalk from Explore the Wild I noticed a large jumping spider perched in the middle of the walkway. The spider was black with bold white markings. As the spider turned to face me, I noticed green chelicerae, or jaws. If you’ve never had a close look at a jumping spider I urge you to do so, they can be quite colorful. When I first saw this spider I thought that it was a Bold Jumping Spider (PhidippusRead more