March 22nd, 2007
finding caterpillars
In my last post on nature photography, Ruth commented:
I seldom see unusual animals, insects or birds, but I would like to be able to recognize the signs that they were there, whether by identifying feeding habits, scat, trails, etc. I likely would see more if I knew how to look for the right clues.
I commented that I’d try to write a few posts on finding various creatures, and this is the first.
It’s probably no great surprise to most of you, but I happen to like caterpillars and spend a good deal of time studying and photographing them each summer. If there’s a tree or plant of any kind in sight, then chances are, depending on the time of season, there’s probably a caterpillar somewhere in the vicinity. Keep that in mind at all times — if you look hard enough, you *will* find caterpillars.
Here are a few tips to help you on your way:
First and most important — watch for leaf damage, or branches where leaves have been entirely stripped away. Caterpillars are voracious leaf eaters, so missing or damaged leaves on any plant are almost a dead giveaway that there are caterpillars close by. I’ve sometimes found whole branches on bushes that have been stripped entirely of leaves. That’s pretty much how I noted the Pandora Sphinx (Eumorpha pandorus) in the above photo. Also watch for frass (insect excrement) around damaged leaves. All of that eating results in the creation of a lot of frass.
Now, you may not find caterpillars just sitting out in the open, as in the case of the Pandora Sphinx, but turn a few leaves, or step beneath the branch of a tree, and you may just find what you’re looking for. But, you’ll have to look closely, as most caterpillars are well camouflaged so that they can carry on with the business of eating without much concern for hiding. That was certainly the case with the Schizura in the above photo. If I looked away for even a few seconds, I would have to look very hard to re-find this caterpillar. It’s brown tail-end section resembles the dried curled edges of leaves, making it very difficult to see.
The Red-humped Oakworm Symmerista canicosta in the above photo, was a little more obvious, but it’s surprising how well those lateral yellow lines blended with the veins of the leaves. I don’t think I would have seen it, but Don and I were talking while taking a break at the side of a trail. I first noticed some leaf damage on a nearby tree branch, and after studying it for awhile, I suddenly began to see caterpillars feeding.
Such was also the case with this Hag Moth (Phobetron pithecium) that was prowling over a small Sugar Maple at trailside. Once again, we were just standing around studying the trees and looking for insects when I happened to spy this odd little caterpillar moving over a damaged leaf.
I should probably mention that I regard the finding of caterpillars to be something of a serendipitous thing. I never set out on a walk thinking, “I’m going to find a Cecropia caterpillar today!” because things just don’t happen that way — at least, not most of the time. Instead, the finding of caterpillars is as much luck as anything, especially in the case of final instars as only a very few caterpillars ever make it to that life stage. By far, the majority are eaten by some other insect, or have succumbed to an infestation of some form of parasitoid. If you happen to find a big, healthy Sphinx caterpillar while out for a walk, then consider yourself very lucky.
That said, there are some species of caterpillars that may be found fairly reliably if you know a little about their favourite foodplant. We all know that Monarchs like milkweed, but so do the Milkweed Tussocks (Euchaetias egle). In summer, you will find them, usually in groups, feeding together on Milkweed leaves. The earlier instars are small and more hairless. I think these are probably fourth instars. By the time they are final instars, you likely will not find them in groups like this — just a good-sized solitary caterpillar roaming around over the Milkweed plants. Last summer, I found quite a few while searching for Monarch larvae.
Now, back to serendipity and making it happen. As mentioned above, if you look just about anywhere, you’ll probably find caterpillars of one sort of another. Wherever I happen to be standing, I allow my gaze to rove around through the nearby vegetation, watching for anything that strikes me as even slightly out of place. That’s how I found the Pearly Wood Nymph (Eudryas unio) in the above photo. I was studying a stand of Purple Loosestrife, casually searching for Golden Loosestrife Beetles, when I noticed a bit of brilliance among the leaves. At first, I thought the orange was just the warm brown of a wilted or damaged leaf, but upon closer inspection I found this wonderful little caterpillar.
Sometimes you find caterpillars in places where you least expect them. This is frequently the case with final instar caterpillars that are seeking a safe place to pupate. I believe that’s exactly what was taking place when I found the Four-horned Sphinx (Ceratomia amytor) in the above photo. While walking along a trail at Murphy’s Point Provincial Park in late August, I was scanning the old cedar rail fences as I’ve frequently found Dark Fishing Spiders (Dolomedes tenebrosus) and also Narceus annularis millipedes on the fences at that time of year. At one point, the top rail of the fence is a bit above eye level due to the slope of the trail. I caught a glimpse of the edge of something green sitting atop the rail. I almost walked on, thinking to myself, “Oh, it’s probably just a leaf,” but then something twigged me to step up to the fence and take a closer look. I was both surprised and thrilled to find that the “leaf” was actually this terrific caterpillar.
One final serendipitous way to find caterpillars, especially late in the season, is by checking out tree leaves that are curled to form a tube shape. I frequently find caterpillars inside of curled leaves, within the refuge where they will begin their pupation. That’s how I found the above Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) at Mill of Kintail Conservation Area, on Sept. 8, a couple of years ago. There was something just a little magical about this find as the caterpillar seemed hidden away within its own little world.
By the way, as this may well come up in the comments, last summer, I did give “beating around the bushes” with a badminton racket and a collection sheet a brief try, but found that it really didn’t appeal to me. I enjoy photographing caterpillars in situ, so don’t much enjoy displacing them so that they’re writhing around on a white sheet on the ground. I did consider doing a bit of caterpillar rearing to see what some of our caterpillars transformed into (I’ve done this in the past), but got so busy with last summer’s Monarch caterpillar rearing project, that I didn’t bother. Anyhow, for the most part, I’d rather leave the caterpillars happily munching on their foodplants and just enjoy watching them and shooting a few photos.
So, that’s about it for tips. The only other thing I would suggest if you’re seriously interested in caterpillars, is to get yourself a copy of David L. Wagner’s Caterpillars of Eastern North America (assuming you’re in the east, that is). Hands down, I think it’s about the best caterpillar field guide to be found.
Tags: nature photography, caterpillars, Pandora Sphinx, Eumorpha pandorus, Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus, Pearly Wood Nymph, Eudryas unio, Red-humped Oakworm, Symmerista canicosta, Four-horned Sphinx, Ceratomia amytor, Schizura, Milkweed Tussock caterpillars, Euchaetias egle, David L. Wagner, Caterpillars of Eastern North America
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:12 pm
I can’t wait for spring to really begin, so I can get out there and find the caterpillars. We haven’t spent a lot of time tuned into their life cycle and habits. Great post on where to look and how to see. I love the photograph of the Tiger Swallowtail. Great markings on that face.
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Great post. I am going to look more carefully this year – they do make nice subjects for photography!
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Great post Bev. The Tussock photo reminded me of a caterpillar photo I grabbed last summer that I haven’t gotten around to ID’ing yet. I clicked your page for ID’s at the top and it seems to be broken, or missing a bunch of entries that were there before?
I will probably pick up the book this summer, I see chapters has it.
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:16 pm
I’ve got the book. Now, all I need is your wonderful eyesight. Our son Steve has the same talent. He found the first ground beetle of the season today. It was so tiny I didn’t even register it until he showed me. I was too busy looking for birds. Your photos of these often overlooked creatures are great.
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:08 pm
The tiger swallowtail looks big in the picture. I didn’t know it uses curled tree leaves to cocoon! It also looks like it has eyes(^^) I forgot what serendipitious meant- oh yeah! It means rewards or things not sought for but gained, right? At least I think so. I like these blogs. Unfortunately, my time is limited since I’m at the library so I can’t browse more- I’ll comment more later!
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:42 pm
There’s an entire chorus line of neighbors singing, “Go see Bev at Burning Silo!” “Why didn’t I wander over sooner?”, she asked herself, while engaging in a bit of head banging.
So this afternoon, this monarch chrysalis I’ve been watching for a dozen days is eclosing. When he went into his greenly suspended state it took a matter of minutes; he’s been working on getting out for 4-5 hours now. How long will this take? Also, when should I move him outside (he’s on a plant on the screen porch)? At this very moment he is still attached by his black thread but soon, I’m thinking that won’t serve him anymore. I want to take pictures as long as possible but I definitely don’t want him loose and struggling against the screens.
I did go back and view your incredible butterfly/caterpillar posts/videos- just beautiful!
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:52 pm
These photos are awesome. I tried taking some insect pictures with my camera (a Canon A80) last summer, but had mixed results because I hadn’t read the manual (d’oh!) and wasn’t familiar with the controls.
Since then, not only have I managed to RTFM, I’ve changed all the settings to manual ones that are much more like my Nikon film camera (an SLR) and have had much better results with static shots (flowers mainly).
I just planted a garden with a lot of native/wildlife friendly species last summer, and I am really looking forward to seeing what happens out there. I have seen spicebush swallowtail and monarch adults on sunflowers and have planted Lindera benzoin, and will be planting Asclepias tuberosa and Asclepias incarnata, so with luck there will be caterpillars, and decent photos of them as well.
Thanks for posting the photographic information — it was really helpful, and the photos are inspiring.
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Thanks for the advice. I’ll start looking for caterpillars around here (in the West! :) -llm.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:16 pm
THAT was absolutely FASCINATING. I will definitely be more aware while working away in the garden this summer that there is most likely a caterpillar sharing its space with me!
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Wow. I just can’t get over the beauty – the forms, colors and patterns you’ve recorded. I hadn’t run into that word ‘frass’ until last year on Pablo’s Round Rock Journal. What a funny word. Is it true that you can actually ‘hear’ them munching away up above you given enough numbers?
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:56 pm
robin – I can’t wait for spring either. I actually did find a Woolly Bear caterpillar out walking along one of the paths here last week before the snow returned!
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Dave – I’ll bet you have some very interesting caterpillars down your way. Your region seems to be right on the division between many of the northern and southern species.
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Peter – I think the “links for IDs” page is about the same, but I should really get to work on improving it sometime soon. I meant to do that last summer! I think you would like David Wagner’s caterpillar book. It contains so much information and the photos are gorgeous.
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Marcia – Thanks! It’s difficult to look for caterpillars when you’re being distracted by good birds! I find a lot of caterpillars when I’m just sitting still somewhere in the fields or woods. The same goes for spiders.
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Laiku – The Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar looks much bigger in the photo than it is in real life. It’s a very nice caterpillar though. The “eye” markings are really quite something to see. Yes, your understanding of the word “serendipitous” is exactly right — rewards or things not sought for but gained.
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vicki – Usually the Monarchs seem to eclose quite quickly – or at least, most that I’ve reared here at my place. I always hope to see them, and next thing they’re flying around the house! I usually put them out on the back porch as they seem to like to rest on the screens for awhile. As soon as they start flying around a bit, I set them out in the garden after I stick a tag to their wings (as I tagged them for MonarchWatch last year). I hope yours is doing okay now.
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firefly – Thanks! I’ve seen some pretty nice close-ups shot with the Canon A80, so it should be possible to get some shots of caterpillars. It sounds like you’ve got a perfect garden for a wide variety of butterfly species. Unfortunately, we don’t get Spicebush Swallowtail in my area, so you’re very lucky!
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Liza – You should have some great caterpillars our your way. I saw some beautiful butterflies when I was in northern California last October, so I’m guessing the prospects would be super!
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Randa – Thanks! It’s interesting that you mentioned being aware of caterpillars sharing space with you. I often think that, if everyone had a chance to see just how beautiful so many caterpillars really are, they might not mind the odd eaten leaf here and there! (-:
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Cathy – Yes, “wow” is exactly what I think of caterpillars too. I find that they are one of the most beautiful and diverse groups of creatures that I photograph. Regarding the sound from munching caterpillars — yes, I’ve been able to hear it when caterpillars are eating certain kinds of tree leaves that have a bit of a crunch when bitten. I’ve especially noticed it in the case of the big Cecropia caterpillars.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Spectacular post! The few times I’ve had really close-up views of caterpillars I’ve been amazed at how beautiful they are. Your photos…well, what more can I say…amazing!
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:04 pm
John – Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Yes, you’re right.. when you get a good look at many caterpillars, they are absolutely beautiful. As mentioned to Cathy, I find the diversity of form and colour quite amazing.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Fascinating post and photos! I customarily hit the trails to see how far I can walk. Now I will be travelling at a slower pace looking for clues. Good eyes are a necessity, especially with the effective camouflage of most of these caterpillars.
Thank you!
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:37 pm
wonderful photos- like with everything else, it’s hard to choose a ‘favorite’ caterpillar.. I’m fond of the slug family though, they’re so unique.. heck they all are. I find the most caterpillars after a windy day, when alot of them will fall from our tree canopy. But with that said, I don’t find as many as I used to and I blame that on the ongoing spraying for gypsy moths.. that toxic crap kills ALL butterfly and moth cats..
and isn’t that guide wonderful? I found a species in there that I’ve photographed at my moth sheets (forget the name) and it has the most beautiful pattern of a butterfly on it’s back!! I’ve seen the moth here, so the caterpillar is hanging out here too. I think the coolest one I’ve found is a silver-spotted skipper caterpillar.. it had the most stunning body patterns (bright green/yellow) a brown ‘head’ and huge orange ‘eyes’ (which are really face-plates that fall off when they go into their next instar).
I rear many of them out.. people don’t know what they’re missing :)
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Great post, Bev and the photos are wonderful. Makes me wonder why they’re not easier to find – their colors are so bright and the various shapes – how could we miss them!
I’ll really have to try harder this summer. I pay a lot of attention to the milkweed plants, and the parsley and dill, but finding cats on trees and *weeds* seems so difficult. I think you almost have to widen your focus, rather than narrow it, to find them, and look for something just slightly *out of place* as you said.
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:46 am
Ruth – When hiking we tend to walk slowly, but usually cover a lot of ground over a period of several hours – very few of our walks are less than three hours. We spend quite a bit of time looking for things. I think our speed would frustrate most avid walkers!
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Cindy – Yes, I think you’re quite right about the impact of spraying on all insects – and then there is the “other” problem of several introduced species of insects that parasitize not only a few target species, but also destroy a large number of other species such as the Cecropia and Luna moth larvae. David Wagner’s field guide is great — it’s one of my favourites – the text and photos are superb. I enjoy rearing caterpillars too, although last year, I raised mainly Monarchs. This year, I’ll probably do Monarchs again, but if I have time, I’ll raise some other species as well.
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Laura – Thanks! Yes, it is a mystery why we don’t see more caterpillars, but they are certainly do blend in with the scenery. Last summer, while looking for Mantidflies on milkweed flowers, I found a caterpillar that was almost exactly the colour of the flowers. Here’s a photo of it. As you can see, it wouldn’t be easily seen if one weren’t looking right at the flowers!
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:59 pm
A caterpillar cornucopia Bev, great stuff.
March 23rd, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Duncan – It sure is! Thanks!
March 26th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
That caterpillars is amazingly good at camouflaging! My sister was like, “That’s a caterpillar? Where is it?” I didn’t see it at first too, ’cause it blended in so well with the peachy, pastel color scheme. It’s really pretty and cool, by the way.
April 25th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
I still marvel at that picture. It is amazing, both the image itself and the image shown. Nature is naturally amazing… don’t you think so?
May 1st, 2007 at 4:41 pm
WOW! I’v never ever seen a caterpillar like that!!! where the crud did you find that!? In the US?! It’s crazy!
email me, camanda_cool@iwon.com
Thank you
May 2nd, 2007 at 8:53 am
Dookie – No, it was here in Canada.
June 2nd, 2007 at 9:26 am
Nice tips. I tried the curling one, but my friends are finding them faster!!!
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Do you have any info on am_daggers?
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Am_daggers is a caterpillar i think
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:36 pm
dO you like caterpillars
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:59 pm
I’ve seen the American Dagger Moth caterpillars from time to time — usually a little later in the summer. Here’s a page that I found that has a few photos of them.
http://www.cirrusimage.com/moths_american_dagger.htm