American Lady Caterpillar

The American Lady butterflies that were busily laying eggs in the Pussytoes a few weeks ago have now almost disappeared.  In their place are caterpillars quietly munching away at the Pussytoe plants.

There’s no shortage of food plants here, especially on the trail.  Low growing plants always thrive when taller growing plants are mowed and Pussytoes are no exception.

Rolled leaves are usually a sign of plants in distress.  On Pussytoes, this condition often indicates the presence of American Lady caterpillars.  The caterpillars pull together the leaf edges and seal them with silk to form a protective chamber in which to feed.  The caterpillar has left here and the leaf is beginning to reopen.

Smaller caterpillars create smaller chambers.  The white area is feeding damage.  As the caterpillars grow, their droppings collect in the silken floor of the chamber.  All evidence of the caterpillar presence is neatly contained.

As they grow, the caterpillars will change locations several times.  Larger caterpillars will use several leaves in construction of the feeding chamber.

The loss of several leaves doesn’t seem to permanently hurt the plant.  New leaves will continue to grow and will probably be ready in time for the next wave of female American Ladies looking for suitable egg laying sites.

Feeding is restricted to the surface of the leaf forming the inner walls of the feeding chamber.  No holes are created in the leaf to expose the hidden caterpillar.

Extensive caterpillar activity is evident in most areas of Pussytoes.  I’m anticipating an impressive hatch of adult butterflies in the near future.

Several feeding chambers contained a shriveled caterpillar along with a small cocoon.

I’m guessing a predatory wasp has been at work.  In the insect world it doesn’t matter how well you hide.  There’s always some predator that has learned where you can be found.

Butterfly Tree

A sap oozing oak tree has become a local butterfly hangout.  Bright red and orange flashes decorated the tree each time the butterflies took flight and then resettled.

 

There were half a dozen Red Admirals present.  I hear that Red Admirals are showing up in record numbers across the eastern United States.  I’ve only seen a total of ten of this species so far this year.  It looks like Blue Jay Barrens is missing out on the big event.

Coloration on the outside of the Red Admiral hind wing is perfect camouflage for sitting  unnoticed on tree bark.  They suddenly pop into view when the front wing is raised.

There’s no hiding when the wings are fully opened.  Red Admirals are usually quick to fly when approached, but these were more focused on the tree sap than on approaching photographers.

Question Marks made up the other half of the tree visitors.  The white question mark marking is plain to see on the hind wing.

Sap flow was the butterfly attractant. There were several of these seeps on the trunk. Judging from the positions of the butterflies, there were sap flows as high as 30 feet up the trunk.

This American Lady wasn’t interested in the tree sap. She was busy visiting Pussytoes on the ground near the tree. Pussytoes are the primary food plant for this butterfly and there were several females hurrying about laying eggs.

I found a Gemmed Satyr resting on the leaves beneath the oak. This normally uncommon species seems to be doing especially well this year. I’ve already seen several individuals. After this shot was taken, a second Gemmed Satyr came by and both butterflies took off on a wild chase. Even though a few individual species are quite abundant, total butterfly numbers have been lower than normal so far.

American Lady

This butterfly is the American Painted Lady. It's unusual for me to see one of these in October. I’m most likely to see this species in the spring as it tries to lay eggs on the leaves of the pussytoes.

The light frost we had wasn’t enough to hurt the goldenrod, so there’re still plenty of flowers for nectaring. The nectar source here is the Grass-leaved Goldenrod.

The underside of the hind wing has a pattern that reminds me of antique lace. This contrasts very nicely with that bright flash of orange on the forewing.

The orange-brown of the upper side is attractive, but just doesn’t have the distinctness of the underside.

This American Lady seemed intent on drinking as much nectar as possible and didn’t seem disturbed by my attempts to get into position for some shots. Knowing the direction the weather’s taking, makes it a little bit sad seeing autumn butterflies. I wonder if this one will migrate or try to survive the winter here.