"What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked." -Aldo Leopold
The highly variable colors and patterns of the skiff moth are hypothesized to mimic senescent/necrotic lesions on leaf surfaces. They often have paired white spots that are thought to mimic the eggs of the tachinid fly, a parasite that enters the caterpillar after hatching. These “egg mimics” are hypothesized to work by dissuading flies that may attempt to avoid depositing eggs on victims that were previously parasitized.
In my anecdotal experience of hunting for slug caterpillars over a six to eight week period this summer, the Nason’s slug (Natada nasoni – Hodges #4679) was by far the most abundant that I came across. This was particularly true in the drier, oak/hickory/pine hillsides of Hickory Canyon N.A. in Sainte Genevieve County.
Nason’s Slug – Limacodidae – Natada nasoni (4679). Horseshoe Bend Natural Area – Washington SP, Texas Co, MO.
This species is able to retract its spines, elongating them to their fullest with any notion of danger. These guys have pretty substantial spines and because the cats were so abundant, I found I was accidentally stung a few times while lifting vegetation. This was not a pleasant experience.
The image below was one that I had previsualized and worked a good bit on to get it right. I used my plamp to hold the leaf and attached the plamp to a dead limb to position the leaf high enough to get the leaf and caterpillar back lit by the sun. I then used just a bit of flash to illuminate the ‘face’ of the caterpillar and the underside of the leaf. In cases where I removed the leaf to get a photo, I always placed the leaf securely back on the same plant.
Stinging Rose Caterpillar -Limacodidae – Parasa intermedia (4699). Cuivre River State Park, Lincoln Co, MO.
Arguably the most stunning of Missouri’s slug moth caterpillars, the Stinging Rose Caterpillar can most often be found on oak and hickory saplings. However, a number of other woody species (including those in the rose family) will also be used as host plants.
Stinging Rose Caterpillar -Limacodidae – Parasa intermedia (4699). Horseshoe Bend Natural Area – Washington SP, Texas Co, MO.
This is one of the species I voluntarily allowed to sting me – it wasn’t that bad, perhaps a mild ‘stinging-nettle’ type of experience that was gone in 30 minutes or so.
Stinging Rose Caterpillar -Limacodidae – Parasa intermedia (4699). Horseshoe Bend Natural Area – Washington SP, Texas Co, MO.
The image below shows a little of the variety of color and patterns that can be found in this species, this one showing more of a yellow/orange background. Some animals can be found that are completely yellow.
Stinging Rose Caterpillar -Limacodidae – Parasa intermedia (4699). Horseshoe Bend Natural Area – Washington SP, Texas Co, MO.
Way back in April, Steve and I grabbed the canoe and took another adventure into Mingo. We believe we were a bit too early in a long spring to catch a lot of wildlife activity, but we did catch a few sites worth remembering. For instance, this single Coot allowed us to get pretty close as we were just getting inside Monopoly Marsh.
American Coot – Mingo Wilderness
Along with water-loving avifauna, certain reptiles can usually be a sure thing to find at Mingo. I heard the expected usual whimpering from the back of the canoe as I attempted to get a steady shot of this Cottonmouth that was trying to absorb some sun on this cool April morning. 😉
American Coot – Mingo Wilderness
One of the more destructive and unfortunate of invasive species to be found in Missouri, the Feral Hog has a strong foothold at Mingo. Polluting water, destroying vegetation, negatively altering natural communities and competing with native wildlife for acorns and other food sources are the major examples of the damages caused by this invasive. The Missouri Department of Conservation has recently announced new policy that should make significant improvements in reducing the numbers of Feral Hogs in the Missouri Ozarks.
Not as Cute as they Seem! – Feral Hogs, Mingo Wilderness
Finally, we have one of the expected and desired of Mingo’s mammals – the Virginia Opossum. This nicely colored possum didn’t mind that Steve and I watch as it had a mid-day snack.
The next slug to make your acquaintance is the Red-crossed Button Slug. This species is quite similar to one or two others as both larvae and adult, but given that most lists I have seen from Missouri list this one and not the others, I am pretty confident in this ID. This species lacks the stinging, protective hairs, going instead with a more camouflage approach of looking like a bit of leaf blight as it passes over leaves of oaks, hickories and quite a few other known woody, deciduous host plants.
On a trail of silk – Red-crossed Button Slug – Limacodidae – Tortricidia-pallida (4653), Hickory Canyon Natural Area
The image above gives a glimpse into how the slugs get around – on a substance described as liquid silk. See the winding trails?
Even their frass is distinctive – Red-crossed Button Slug – Limacodidae – Tortricidia-pallida (4653), Hickory Canyon Natural Area
Here I caught one in the act. From what I’ve read, slugs leave distinctively shaped (indented) frass that is different from that of other caterpillars. I didn’t pause long enough to investigate.
The slug moth – Red-crossed Button Slug – Limacodidae – Tortricidia-pallida (4653), Hickory Canyon Natural Area
Finally, the adult slug moth is pictured above. Slug moths are strongly attracted to lights and, from what I have read, are often some of the first species to show up when setting up a light and sheet/trap. I have a theory that this may be why I find many less slug caterpillars the closer I look near St. Louis. Although I found very similar habitats with the same composition and numbers of sapling oaks and hickories (the favored host plants), the closer I came to the city the number of slug caterpillars dropped significantly. Perhaps the city lights are sucking in the adults before they are able to reproduce? Probably a too simplistic idea, but it is a trend I noticed. It could just as well be due to fragmented habitat and overall less habitat available the closer one gets to the city.
Zone-tailed Hawk -Accipitridae – Buteo-albonotatus. Photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, TX.
I found two juvenile Zone-tailed Hawks on 10/08/16 at Brazos Bend State Park, just west of Houston, TX. I didn’t know until later how rare of a find that it was. Population estimates for the state of TX are around 50 breeding pairs. Also, this species is usually found further west in Texas – this was only the forth recorded observation at this location.
While searching for arthropod subjects to photograph on Steve’s property, we decided to check the compost/midden pile and found something completely unexpected.
Gold and Brown Rove Beetle – Staphylinidae-Ontholestes cingulatus, Farmington, MO
These beetles were crazy to watch – super speedy while flipping their gold-tipped abdomens over their backs in display. These guys yield even more support to my contention that the vast majority of ideas used in the sci-fi genre (particularly the creature-features) were taken from somewhere within the natural world.
Gold and Brown Rove Beetle – Staphylinidae-Ontholestes cingulatus, Farmington, MO
Check out those chompers!
Gold and Brown Rove Beetle – Staphylinidae-Ontholestes cingulatus, Farmington, MO
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 