"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
To continue with the Halloween week theme, tonight I am presenting an image that represents something that nearly became a horror story. Not that I am considering any of these spiders, snakes or any native creatures I photograph to be scary at all. It just happens that I have several of these “spooky” critters lined up in the photo queue at the right time, so to speak.
This nearly became a horror story for me because I was literally one step away from standing on this snake. Casey and I were walking the the Lost Valley Trail at Weldon Spring Conservation Area in St. Charles County, looking for late season caterpillars. On the way back to the car, not far from the parking lot, I just happened to catch the outline of this snake lying across my path before taking a step that would have put my sandal-clad foot down right on top of it.
It tuned out to be a really chill snake, allowing us to photograph it where it laid. I tried to coax it into a coiled position with a stick but it instantly retreated into a burrow underneath some leaf litter just off the trail.
As I mention frequently, I absolutely love this area. It is so rich and diverse. It has beautiful hills and forest structure and lies a mere thirty minutes from our house.
We found this little one on a cat hunting trip at Horseshoe Bend Natural Area in Texas County, MO in mid September. Check out the little flies hanging around hoping to scavenge some bug juice, much like the the vultures and other scavengers that might be found around a lion’s kill.
From my count, there are at least ten members of this genus that could be found in Missouri, but I think I have got the correct identification. Please let me know if you would suggest otherwise.
On a cat hunting trip to St. Francois State Park in September, Casey and I had the great fortune of finding one of the coolest spiders in the state – the toadlike bolas spider (Mastophora phrynosoma). Females of this species are well known for their unique hunting method. By day, they sit around, often out in the open, looking very much like a bird dropping. At night, instead of building webs, they move to the edge of a leaf or twig and hang a single line of silk with one or more sticky globules attached – their “bolas” that they use to ensnare moths and other flying prey. See this great video by the BBC for a demonstration of this.
This is the second year in a row I’ve had the fortune in finding one of these girls. If I’m lucky enough next year, I’ll be sure to try my hand at catching her hunting behaviors with the camera.
Time to get into the season by sharing a brilliant spider for October. This brilliant jumping spider was photographed back in July at Horn’s Prairie Grove LWR. This is one of several jumping spiders that are believed to be mimics of the Mutillidae family of wasps, better known as “velvet ants.”
In early October of this year, while hunting for autumn migrating sparrows among the marshy grasslands at BK Leach Conservation Area, I came across this cooperative Merlin. As you can see in the photos, this bird appeared to be having the same poor luck as me at finding sparrows or any passerines whatsoever. I watched it catch and consume four dragonflies in the hour or so I sat watching from my car. They are known to prey on dragonflies and other large insects but birds make up the majority of their diet.
Another thing I found interesting in watching this bird is that it seemed to prefer sitting on the power lines although there were plenty of telephone poles and some dead snags available in the area. One of the things I’ve read about Merlins in some field guides, and have heard from my birding mentors over the years, is that when you see a small falcon perched on a wire it will almost always be a Kestrel. This is the third time I have come across Merlin sitting on wires that I can remember. But, I am sure it is still the case that they prefer more natural perches in general.
There are two subspecies of Merlin that can be found in our area during migration and winter. This bird appears to be a juvenile Taiga/Boreal (ssp. columbarius).
I got back into serious hunting of caterpillars beginning in late August of this year. On some trips, I hunted with a nice group of friends and on several others I went on solo outings. All in all, it was a lot of work and, at times, I wondered if the payoff was worth the time and effort. However, like I’ve said before, anytime spent in quality spots in the outdoors is time well spent. In this first post, I am sharing, as no surprise to those who know me well enough, images of larvae from my favorite family of Leps – the Limacodidae, otherwise known as the “slug moth” caterpillars.
Red-crossed Button Slug Moth (Tortricidia pallida) Limacodidae, Hodges#4653 By far the most abundant slug we found this season was the red-crossed button. I did not collect good enough records to put a specific number of the individuals found, but it would be close to 25.
Nason’s Slug Moth (Natada nasoni) Limacodidae, Hodges#4679 This is another one that is usually found in goodly numbers during the hunting season. We found a few, but not nearly as abundant as in most years.
Stinging Rose Caterpillar Moth (Parasa indetermina) Limacodidae, Hodges#4699 Always a pleasure to find, the stinging rose caterpillars will vary considerably in the amounts of the yellow, white, black and red colors.
Skiff Moth (Prolimacodes badia) Limacodidae, Hodges#4671 Another slug that can be quite variable in colors and patterns, the skiff moths can often be found on the tops of leaves. This is opposed to most of the cats in this family being located on the undersides of leaves. As you can see in the one pictured here, these guys are patterned to appear as easily-overlooked spots of necrosis on late-season green leaves.
Inverted Y Slug Moth (Apoda y-inversum) Limacodidae, Hodges#4667 Overall, I was a little disappointed in the numbers and diversity of slugs we found this season, however this species and the following one are not always encountered every season. I believe this is only the third cat of this species I have been able to find.
Beutenmueller’s Slug Moth (Isochaetes beutenmuelleri) Limacodidae, Hodges#4675 Until this year, I have only been able to see one caterpillar of the Beutenmueller’s slug, better known as the “spun-glass” slug. This year I found three! I’ll never get tired of seeing these.
Unknown Limacodid This mid-instar cat could potentially be one of several species. I think there is a chance it could be the – jeweled tailed slug moth (Packardia geminata), but it is most likely a yellow-shouldered slug (Lithacodes fasciola). I wish I would have thought to bring it home to rear. In the know and have a better idea on the identity of this one? Please let me know in the comments below.
Shagreened Slug Moth (Apoda biguttata) Limacodidae, Hodges#4669 In the picture below of this shagreened slug, you can see a couple of the traits that are distinctive to the Limacodidae. First, it is quite common that the slug cats will eat the leaves in a more horizontal direction, squaring off the leaves, so-to-speak. Most other caterpillars will eat circular notches in the leaves as they feed. Second, although difficult to see in this picture, is the distinctive frass the caterpillar is dropping. Limacodid frass is distinctly shaped, with one section being notched to “fit” along side the ones before and after. Interestingly, monarch (Danaus plexippus) and likely other groups also share this trait.
Hag Moth (Phobetron pithecium) Limacodidae, Hodges#4677 Either we were out too early, in general, or the hag moth cats, AKA “monkey slugs,” were later than usual. I found quite a few mid-instar monkey slugs this season but not a single late-instar. I was too lazy, or perhaps disappointed, to pull out the big rig to photograph any of these, so here is a cellphone shot. The reason I wanted to share this is to show the interesting feeding behavior of cats at this stage of their development.
Notice the wavy, white to lime-green patches on the top of this leaf? This is indicative of how this younger monkey slug is feeding. Instead of free-feeding and consuming the entire leaf, this guy is feeding like a skeletonizer or a leaf-miner, in that it is scraping the top layer of the leaf. In this photo, you can see fresh scraping areas and ones that are much older, suggesting that this cat has been living on this leaf for some time. I suppose it likely that early to mid instars of all species in this family feed in this way, but I am not usually out hunting in early to mid summer to have observed this before.
A mid-instar hag moth caterpillar, feeding by scraping off the top layer of the leaf surface. BTW, the caterpillar is in the upper left section of this photo. 😉
Black-waved Flannel Moth (Megalopyge crispata) Megalopygidae, Hodges#4644 Technically, not a Limacodidae family member, the black-waved flannel moth is in the closely related family, Megalopygidae, within the same super family (Zygaenoidea), which include not only the slugs and flannel moths, but leaf skeletonizer moths as well. We regularly find this species on our late-season outings. This year I was able to find and photograph two different stages. The earlier instars are fluffy white in appearance, while the final instars are colored in warmer browns.
Remember, these guys are not for petting. Descriptions vary, but the hairs on these have been described as highly irritating to downright dangerous, potentially requiring a hospital visit.
A mid-instar of the black-waved flannel moth (Megalopyge crispata) in its fluffy white coat.
Late instars of this species are draped in reds and browns. Some have suggested they can look like the top of a recent “president’s” head.
I believe these are all of the photos I have to share of the Limacodidae from this past season. Thanks for visiting and please let me know if you find any errors in my identifications by making comments below.
Just across the border into Kansas, Pete and I found Eryngium leavenworthii (Leavenworth’s Eryngo). Along with species like rattlesnake master and creeping eryngo, this is quite a diverse and fascinating genus.
The level of purple varies in individual plants, but as you can see in the following photos, virtually every part of the plant – stems, leaves, bracts and flowers, have some bit of purple.
Eryngium leavenworthii (Leavenworth’s Eryngo)
Even the anthers and filaments of Eryngium leavenworthii are blue/purple.
The flowers of these plants were really drawing in the pollinators. Here are just a few of the insects we observed visiting.
A long-horned bee, probably in the genus Melissodes, visits Eryngium leavenworthii.
A bee fly (Bombylius sp.) and some beetles nectaring on Eryngium leavenworthii.
This plant does well on poor, dry soils and they are apparently very deer resistant. I might have to introduce these to the garden if I can find them available in a local nursery.
I forgot to post the following adult imperial moth from our black-lighting night this year in the previous post. As you can see, it was a worthwhile night! I photographed this species once before and they do commonly show up on black-lighting occasions, but I never get tired of them showing up! All of these images were taken at Engelmann Natural Area in Franklin County, MO.
Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis)
Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis)
This imperial moth caterpillar was found on a night cat hunt in late September.
I got a whole one night of black-lighting in this season, when Miguel and I headed to Engelmann Woods Natural Area in Franklin County, Mo in early August. For only a few hours in a single night, our results were pretty fun. Here are some of what I have gotten around to processing so far.
Clouded Underwing (Catocala nebulosa) Erebidae, Hodges#8796 This one wouldn’t open up his wings to show the pink tones that are hiding on the dorsal side of its hind wings. Nonetheless, the pattern and warm tones make this a very handsome species. Now I just need to find the beautiful larvae!
Clouded Underwing (Catocala nebulosa)
Owlfly (Ululodes sp.) Ascalaphidae These guys show up to the lights from time to time and it’s always a nice treat to find them.
Eastern Hercules Beetle (Dynastes tityus) Scarabaeidae It’s a party when one of these shows up. This is the third individual I’ve been able to find and they were all females. I want to find a male badly!
Heitzman’s Dagger Moth (Acronicta heitzmani) Noctuidae, Hodges#9241.1 Not only is this a very attractive dagger moth (a group I’m becoming much more interested in), but is a really special species for Missouri and a real privilege to find and photograph. Missouri is a stronghold in the range of this species and the type specimen was collected at Truman State Park. It was named for the late lepidopterist, Richard Heitzman – author of the “Butterflies and Moths of Missouri” books published by the MDC. To my knowledge, the larvae of this species has yet to be found or photographed.
Heitzman’s Dagger Moth (Acronicta heitzmani)
Small engrailed (Ectropis crepuscularia) Geometridae. Hodges#6597 We also found some time to do a little caterpillar hunting. The larvae of this Geometrid are known by the name of saddleback looper. This one was found on persimmon (Diospyros virginiana).
Small engrailed (Ectropis crepuscularia)
Skiff moth (Prolimacodes badia) Limacodidae, Hodges#4671 Limacodid, or “slug” moths are known to be some of the first and most abundant moths attracted to lights and I always feel a bit guilty to see them trapped against the sheets while black-lighting. Even on the slowest evenings, you can usually count on a skiff moth or several to make an appearance.
Skiff moth (Prolimacodes badia)
These are the highlights from black-lighting in 2023. I hope to get out for this a few more times next year.
Today’s post features lovely little Chrysomelid beetle larvae. These were found at Taberville Conservation Area in St. Clair County, MO in June of this year. Blepharida rhois – the sumac flea beetle, create “shields” by retaining their feces as a means of protection from would-be predators. It has been discovered that chemicals from their sumac (Rhuss spp.) host plants, along with partial metabolites from the digestive process, act as swell deterrents in avoiding ant predators. When fed a diet of lettuce, the shields’ protective abilities were lost.*
*Vencl, F., Morton, T. The shield defense of the sumac flea beetle, Blepharida rhois (Chrysomelidae: Alticinae). Chemoecology8, 25–32 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00001800
Belepharida rhois – the sumac flea beetle with protective shields composed of their own frass
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 