syrinx

gulf fritillary on a passion flower vine

Caterpillar of gulf fritillary butterfly - two of them on this passion flower vine, which grows throughout the Southeast. Apparently also a favorite larval food for the Zebra swallowtail, but none sighted so far. Obviously I don't use enough pesticide in my yard or I wouldn't be getting all these bugs crawling all over and eating up all my plants...

tags: wildlife caterpillar butterfly wildflower habitat gulffritillary passionflowervine

hummingbird moth caterpillar

Found this little fellow crawling across the stone path this afternoon while hauling dirt in a wheelbarrow. Looked it up and after some searching finally found an identification. Most likely it's a hummingbird moth caterpillar, since I've observed the adult moth several times this year. Apparently they pupate under the ground, and this little worm was headed away from a coral honeysuckle, which is one of its larval hosts, so I suspect it was looking for a patch of ground or trying to commit suicide by bird. Went inside, took its picture, looked it up, and when I went back out it was gone.

tags: caterpillar hummingbirdmoth

Caterpillar

tags: jefferson forest photos gallery caterpillar