Even good moths can make bad choices
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- rjlittlefield
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Even good moths can make bad choices
Normally moths are pretty good about laying their eggs in appropriate places. After all, the survival of the clutch depends on it.
But once in a while, there's an exception...
That's right -- mommy moth laid her clutch in the middle of a plain white wall, fully 20 feet from the nearest vegetation of any kind. This is certainly among the strangest situations I've ever seen.
I have no idea what these things eat. They're doomed.
--Rik
Technical: Canon 300D camera with 80 mm f/4 Olympus bellows lens at f/8, slightly over 2:1 onto the sensor, detached flash with paper towel diffuser. First two images are the same frame, second one cropped tighter. Last image is from Canon A710 IS, two shots layered.
But once in a while, there's an exception...
That's right -- mommy moth laid her clutch in the middle of a plain white wall, fully 20 feet from the nearest vegetation of any kind. This is certainly among the strangest situations I've ever seen.
I have no idea what these things eat. They're doomed.
--Rik
Technical: Canon 300D camera with 80 mm f/4 Olympus bellows lens at f/8, slightly over 2:1 onto the sensor, detached flash with paper towel diffuser. First two images are the same frame, second one cropped tighter. Last image is from Canon A710 IS, two shots layered.
- rjlittlefield
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Well, it's not wallpaper --- it's white latex paint over texture consisting of sprayed clay. I've never heard of any caterpillar eating that, and as much of that wall material as there is in this community, such a critter would be big bad news.
Alas, eating each other 'til there's just one big one doesn't work either, at least as an exclusive strategy. The remaining big one would still be smaller than mommy, unless there's some other food somewhere along the way.
I'm still betting on a simple mistake.
--Rik
Alas, eating each other 'til there's just one big one doesn't work either, at least as an exclusive strategy. The remaining big one would still be smaller than mommy, unless there's some other food somewhere along the way.
I'm still betting on a simple mistake.
--Rik
- rjlittlefield
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No houseplants near these caterpillars. I was serious about that "20 feet" estimate.
I'd like to leave them alone and see what they do. Disperse, move around as a group, stay in one place, eat the paint??
But I'm not sure how this is going to work out. I'm not the only person who lives here, and there's a bit of debate going on.
--Rik
I'd like to leave them alone and see what they do. Disperse, move around as a group, stay in one place, eat the paint??
But I'm not sure how this is going to work out. I'm not the only person who lives here, and there's a bit of debate going on.
--Rik
- rjlittlefield
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Could be, but there are other possibilities.Cyclops wrote:Well I'm guessing there'll be a heap of dead caterpillars in the house soon
Perhaps the most interesting one is that these caterpillars use the strategy of "hatch and hibernate". In other words, they may not need anything to eat until spring. If that's the case, then they'll just hang around on my wall, not doing much of anything, until I get tired of looking at them and move them outside.
I don't know when these critters hatched. I remember noticing a dark spot a few days ago, but I did not investigate until today. Of course the dark spot that I noticed earlier might have been just eggs getting close to hatching.
--Rik
- rjlittlefield
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Not a clue. Don't even know what she looks like.P_T wrote:Where's the mommy anyway?
The caterpillars have an "inchworm" style of leg pattern, but I haven't tried running these critters through the rest of the keys to see what else they might be. Probably won't, either, unless I get a lot more curious than I am right now. Trying to key out caterpillars this small is tedious at best.
--Rik
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Well if there is no cellulose in the wall material that rules out a meal, I would think but then I again I don't know about moth caterpillars or caterpillars in general either. We have an ant/termite here that is capable of eating "dry wall," "sheet-rock" and some other building materials. Nasty little buggers that can really wreck a home. Sure is an unusual place for a moth to lay eggs though. Then again if the moth was trapped inside your home, well any port in a storm as they say, when you gotta' go, you gotta' go. Really like that "wall hanging" inset.
- rjlittlefield
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Well, here we are 5 days later, and I still have some caterpillars on my wall. Most of the original bunch were still there last night, but this morning there's only a few left. I notice a few new small spiders on that wall too, looking maybe just a bit smug. I don't know whether all this is related. Anyway, the few caterpillars that are left seem to be just fine, despite 5 days with nothing to eat. Hatch-and-hibernate is still looking like a good bet.
Thanks for the comments about the "wall hanging". I didn't really intend it to look quite like that, but when I was done clicking the mouse, it struck me exactly the same way. I kinda' liked it, so I just left it that way instead of trying to rework it.
--Rik
Thanks for the comments about the "wall hanging". I didn't really intend it to look quite like that, but when I was done clicking the mouse, it struck me exactly the same way. I kinda' liked it, so I just left it that way instead of trying to rework it.
--Rik