I saw a few of these woolly bear caterpillars last fall. They become Isabella Tiger Moths, which I’ve never seen but now I’m curious about. There’s a folk story that the amount of orange predicts how severe the winter will be (more black = colder winter). However, if anything, the bands may predict the previous year’s weather. There’s a nice summary of the origins of the tale here.
It took me a long time to identify this insect. Because what search term do you use? I knew it was a true bug (Hemiptera), but “small brown bug” is pretty generic. They are related to stink bugs, and it’s not the bug’s breath that smells, but apparently the gland near the rear legs produces a smell similar to halitosis. I didn’t test this.
This is an awesome creature! I was so happy to find it in my compost. Black soldier fly larvae are some of the best waste processors around, of everything from table scraps to chicken feces. They’re being mass produced more lately, and are being used on spent grain from beer and at fish farms.
I found a bunch of their larvae just under the surface of the compost pile. I tried keeping two of them in a container for a few weeks, to see if they’d pupate and become adults. The answer to my questions (above) is no… after six weeks or so, I came out to find the container smashed and empty. Dog? I don’t know. I will try this again though.
Here’s a western comma butterfly, or Polygonia satyrus. It’s not the greatest picture, but it’s the most ❤️’d image of this series on Instagram. I saw this one in Yellowstone National Park, where it flitted away after a few seconds.
That’s it for questions 40-49. I am in the late 50’s currently, so I’ll have one more post in a week or so, then I’ll go back to essays. Cheers!
Ticklehead 