Over the past few days, we have found some cats (ie caterpillars)! I saw three monarchs heading south today. One at the LBJ grasslands and two here at the house. It seems like the Emperors butterflies have really exploded here. I wonder where they have been hiding all summer? Nary an Emperor cat have I seen.
First cat in the lineup, Purpletop Sun Moth (Heliocheilus lupatus)!
A close view of this beauty. And I bet you can guess what the host plant is…Purpletop grass (Tridens flavus)!
The cat can be hard to spot so I decided to see if it was easier with the UV. Works pretty good!
Second cat! Jim found this while cutting down Hackberry trees. This is the Ruddy Dagger Moth or Hackberry Dagger (Acronicta rubricoma)! You guessed it, the host plant is the Hackberry tree. LOL
The hairs on the back are bunched together down the center of its back. Nice find Jim! And he is making our prairie open again!
This looper moth caterpillar was on Broomweed.
Now it waits on my shelf safe from predators!
Final cat and it is a new find for me! Thanks to help from BugGuide, it is mostly likely a Dainty Sulphur (Nathalis iole)!
It was found on Palafoxia (Palafoxia callosa)! Love it little red head horns! It also has a safe home. 😉
Keep looking!
The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know.
Wow, wow, wow! Love these cats!
Cool cats. Favorite is hackberry dagger.