The stunning Polka Dot Wasp Moth is the adult stage of the Oleander Caterpillar, here pollinating our Backyard Loquat Trees. It is rare to see and get film of these elusive beauties which flutter around slowly in the daytime (Syntomeida epilais Walker). Its dangerous wasp-like appearance and unusual color patterns say to potential predators like birds - stay away - thus they are perfectly safe to feed on pollen in the daytime alongside the bees and other pollinators. Their caterpillars are only destructive to Oleander Trees which are highly poisonous. Oddly another similar wasp moth with bright red wings is actually called the Spotted Oleander Wasp Moth - it can be seen in this video:
The adult stage of the oleander caterpillar is sometimes called the polka-dot wasp moth. Wasp moth is the common name given to the subfamily of arctiid moths to which this species belongs (the ctenuchines) because of their resemblance to wasps such as the sphecids and pompilids. The moth's body and wings are a beautiful iridescent blue/green. Small white dots are found on the body, wings, legs and antennae, and the tip of the abdomen is red/orange. Male and female moths are quite similar in appearance, and have a wing span of 45 to 51 mm. These moths are slow-flying and active during daylight hours, which contrasts them with other moth species which are usually nocturnal.
Eastern Tent Caterpillars invade an Apple Tree. This "tent" of caterpillars is easily spot treated with insecticide on this small tree limiting their damage to the foliage.
The eastern tent caterpillar (Malacosoma) is a species of moth in the family Lasiocampidae, the tent caterpillars or lappet moths. It is univoltine, producing one generation per year. It is a tent caterpillar, a social species that forms communal nests in the branches of trees. It is sometimes confused with the gypsy moth and the fall webworm, and may be erroneously referred to as a bagworm, which is the common name applied to unrelated caterpillars in the family Psychidae. The moths oviposit almost exclusively on trees in the plant family Rosaceae, particularly cherry (Prunus) and apple (Malus). The caterpillars are hairy with areas of blue, white, black and orange. The blue and white colors are structural colors created by the selective filtering of light by microtubules that arise on the cuticle.
Tent caterpillars are among the most social of larvae. The adult moth lays her eggs in a single batch in late spring or early summer. An egg mass contains about 200 to 300 eggs. Embryogenesis proceeds rapidly, and within three weeks, fully formed caterpillars can be found within the eggs. The small caterpillars lie quiescent until the following spring, they start to chew their way out of the eggs just as the buds of the host tree begin to develop.
The newly hatched caterpillars initiate the construction of a silk tent soon after emerging. They typically aggregate at the tent site throughout their larval stage, expanding the tent each day to accommodate their increasing size. Under field conditions, the caterpillars feed three times each day, just before dawn, at midafternoon, and in the evening after sunset. During each bout of feeding, the caterpillars emerge from the tent, add silk to the structure, move to distant feeding sites en masse, feed, and then return immediately to the tent where they rest until the next activity period. The exception to this feeding pattern occurs in the last instar, when the caterpillars feed only at night. The insect has six larval instars. At the last stage, the caterpillars disperse and each constructs a cocoon in a protected place. The adult moths, or imagoes, emerge about two weeks later. They are strictly nocturnal and start flying after nightfall, coming to rest within a few hours of dawn.[1] Mating and oviposition typically occur on the day the moths emerge from their cocoons; the females die soon thereafter.
Tent caterpillars, like many other species of social caterpillars, vigorously thrash the anterior part of their bodies when they detect predators and parasitoids. Such bouts of thrashing, which may be initiated by a single caterpillar, radiate rapidly through the colony and may result in group displays involving dozens of caterpillars. Such displays create a moving target for tachinid flies, wasps, and other small parasitoids that would lay eggs on or in the body of the caterpillar. They also clearly deter stink bugs and other timid predators. Groups of caterpillars resting on the surface of the tent constitute aposematic displays. Few birds other than cuckoos find the hairy caterpillars palatable. Cherry leaves are cyanogenic and the caterpillars regurgitate cyanide-laden juices when disturbed.
Tent caterpillars secrete silk from a spinneret wherever they go, and frequently-used pathways soon bear conspicuous silk trails. As the caterpillars move about the tree, they largely confine their movements to these trails. They lay down pheromones along the trails by dragging their abdomens. Caterpillars that find food may overmark the exploratory trails they follow back to the tent, creating recruitment trails. Recruitment trails are much more attractive to its brethren than exploratory trails, and serve to lead the group directly to the newest food source. A single successful forager can recruit the entire colony to its food find.
The exact identity of the trail pheromone of the eastern tent caterpillar has not yet been determined, but the chemical 5β-cholestane-3-one has been shown to be fully competitive with it. Caterpillars readily follow trails of this chemical, even abandoning their own trails in favor of artificial trails prepared with the compound.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_tent_caterpillar
Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar Halysidota tessellaris comes in a variety of colors - this is the white variety. Called "Tussock moth" for the tufts of hair on the caterpillar. (tussock = a tuft or clump of green grass or similar verdure, forming a small hillock--Wiktionary.)
The long black and white "lashes" front and rear shout out - danger! "don't touch me". Indeed they are akin to extremely small sharp needles. A skin irritation and sometimes a severe allergic reaction can occur when contacting the sharp spines which are said to have a feel like rubbing raw fiberglass threads into your skin. This one is in a rush to cocoon up for the winter! The wildest looking variety of Tussock Moth Caterpillar the White-Marked can be seen at:
Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar Halysidota tessellaris comes in a variety of colors - this is the yellow variety. Called "Tussock moth" for the tufts of hair on the caterpillar. (tussock = a tuft or clump of green grass or similar verdure, forming a small hillock--Wiktionary.)
The long black and white "lashes" front and reare shout out - danger! "don't touch me". Indeed they are akin to extremely small sharp needles. A skin irritation and sometimes a severe allergic reaction can occur when contacting the sharp spines which are said to have a feel like rubbing raw fiberglass threads into your skin. This one is in a rush to cocoon up for the winter! The wildest looking variety of Tussock Moth Caterpillar the White-Marked can be seen at:
I captured the sound of the footsteps of this caterpillar's six big feet doing the double-time down a deck railing (from 00:10 to 00:30) - despite a loud leaf blower in the distance. A fascinating creature, and one of the more bizarre caterpillars in nature - the larvae of the White-Marked Tussock Moth is a combination of stunning beauty and obvious danger and knows how to struts its stuff. With a "toothbrush" on its back, cactus-like needles all over and red warning lights front and rear this caterpillar is shouting out - danger! "don't touch me". A skin irritation and sometimes a severe allergic reaction can occur when contacting the sharp spines (seta) which are said to have a feel like rubbing raw fiberglass threads like insulation on your skin - nice. Nevertheless, these are interesting creatures to hang with for a short time as they always seem to be in a hurry to get somewhere. The bright red bulbous head of this caterpillar reflected so much of the strong sunlight flooding the scene that it was difficult to get into focus. However, the harsh sunlight in the photo below really shows off the increibily long and sharp seta of this creature. This was the same caterpillar that spat out a wild grape in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv-L7f9vaJQ
Talk about a "random act of Nature" - I ran across this White-marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar, one of the more bizarre-looking ones there is and as I started filming it spit a wild grape out with the utmost disdain. I'm sure the almost wild "raisin" was pretty bitter, but who would suspect they would be such picky eaters - and be able to propel a sour wild grape so far. I'm pretty sure this is the documented distance record for caterpillar grape spitting - If anyone has a contender bring it on. This was a fascinating caterpillar and I will include some more footage of this bizarre creature in another blog post.
Amazing Insect Camouflage - This Moth - probably one of the 100's of varieties of "fungus moths" has adapted to live around wood decks near artificial nighttime light sources in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. It clearly "chooses" the best spot over a dark knot where there is an overhang to blend in and avoid predators and the daytime sun. Their camouflage efforts would be more effective on a tree, but since these moths have adapted to life on or near wood decks they choose the best "spots". Amazing!
