A couple of friends and I went to visit some sand and gravel hill prairies in central Illinois yesterday. Although it is a delight to visit those places and their unique floral communities, we didn’t find a lot to make us pull out the cameras. We took a short break from walking through the prairies in near perfect weather for an August day and did a little cat hunting in the nearby Sand Ridge State Forest. Along with some hungry mosquitos we happened across this cute little one feeding on a species of red oak. This is the silk moth Antheraea polyphemus. This species is among the largest caterpillars to be found in our area, but this guy was pretty tiny. I believe this is a 2nd instar.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 