Cats and 'Dids and 'Tids

Images of undisturbed subjects in their natural environment. All subject types.

Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau

MarkSturtevant
Posts: 1946
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 6:52 pm
Location: Michigan, U.S.A.
Contact:

Cats and 'Dids and 'Tids

Post by MarkSturtevant »

That is a terrible title.
Anyway, a relatively common giant Saturniid moth is the promethea moth (Callosamia promethea), and so here are pictures of their caterpillars at various ages. Small, medium, and large. The largest is about the size of your thumb.
ImagePromethea caterpillars by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
ImagePromethea caterpillar by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
ImagePromethea caterpillar by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
ImagePromethea caterpillar by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

Next up are round-headed katydids (Amblycorypha oblongifolia). These large katydids are remarkably calm for a jumping insect.
ImageRound-headed katydid by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
ImageRound headed katydid nymph by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
ImageRound-headed katydid by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

And here are Chinese mantids (Tenodera sinensis). First is a large nymph in a rather dramatic pose, followed by a movie clip from pictures taken of an adult female. I was trying to get her to just sit still so I could take pictures with the wide angle macro lens, but of course a mantis just does what it wants. Maybe some frames will come out later.
ImageChinese mantis nymph by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

Click on the picture to play the "movie".
Image"Bad mantis! No!" by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

Thanks for looking!
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

rjlittlefield
Site Admin
Posts: 23564
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:34 am
Location: Richland, Washington State, USA
Contact:

Re: Cats and 'Dids and 'Tids

Post by rjlittlefield »

The title is a bit strained, but what I really notice is that the post is a total of 9 images of three different organisms, bundled together to be over the nominal limits for no obvious reason.

The images are very nice. That's a cute photobomb by the small bug under the katydid. About the silkmoths, I confess to some jealousy that you get to raise those, since around my place they are seldom seen any more.

--Rik

MarkSturtevant
Posts: 1946
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 6:52 pm
Location: Michigan, U.S.A.
Contact:

Re: Cats and 'Dids and 'Tids

Post by MarkSturtevant »

The basis of this eclectic set came from pictures of all 3 species taken on the same day in a park, plus some more pictures of the same species since they were on hand. I am sorry to go over the limit. I was not paying attention to that.
Rik, you do have many great Saturniids in your area, including one that looks very much like Polyphemus and so perhaps they are similarly common (?) Now that I've learned how to find them, I see that Polyphemus cats pretty frequently in my area. But the only adults I've seen came from cocoons that I brought home.
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

Sumguy01
Posts: 1715
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 11:05 pm
Location: Ketchikan Alaska USA

Re: Cats and 'Dids and 'Tids

Post by Sumguy01 »

=D> Very nice set.
Thanks for sharing.

rjlittlefield
Site Admin
Posts: 23564
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:34 am
Location: Richland, Washington State, USA
Contact:

Re: Cats and 'Dids and 'Tids

Post by rjlittlefield »

MarkSturtevant wrote:
Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:29 pm
Rik, you do have many great Saturniids in your area, including one that looks very much like Polyphemus and so perhaps they are similarly common (?)
Yes, I know the group. I used to find a lot of frass on concrete, a fair number of caterpillars (typically by standing in a patch of frass and looking straight up), and an occasional cocoon. But I have not had the pleasure of any of those experiences for several years. Large moths in general are way down, witness which my tomato plants have not hosted a single sphinx caterpillar for at least the last 10 years. The reasons for this decline are unclear. I expect the main cause is hugely increased predation from the immigrant European paper wasp Polistes dominula. There may also be increased pressure from some parasites (introduced flies). Reduction of some host species, especially birches and willows, is definitely an issue in my neighborhood. In the surrounding few miles, I suspect that pesticides and climate change are not to blame, except possibly for some reduction in host species. But in any case populations of the big moths are so far down that I seldom see any life stage.

--Rik

Lou Jost
Posts: 5948
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2015 7:03 am
Location: Ecuador
Contact:

Re: Cats and 'Dids and 'Tids

Post by Lou Jost »

Rik, I have had the same experience, and I think a large factor is light pollution. Very often when a new light is intalled somewhere previously dark, lots of moths come in during the first few months, but eventually they stop coming.

Of course it could be that they are still around but just don't comein to the lights any more after a while. But coupled with the observation of missing juveniles, I think they are really gone.

TexOkie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2021 11:50 am
Location: Tulsa, OK, USA

Re: Cats and 'Dids and 'Tids

Post by TexOkie »

That is a terrible title.
Anyway, a relatively common giant Saturniid moth is the promethea moth (Callosamia promethea), and so here are pictures of their caterpillars at various ages. Small, medium, and large. The largest is about the size of your thumb.
My hat is off to you sir. My sole attempt at shooting a cat was an exercise in frustration. The little critter crawled faster than I could draw a good focus on him. I ended up with one mediocre shot and twenty berry horrible shots. Nice work.
Eric
Tulsa, Ok
Canon 80D, Tokina 100mm Macro, Canon Autobellows & 50mmFD

MarkSturtevant
Posts: 1946
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 6:52 pm
Location: Michigan, U.S.A.
Contact:

Re: Cats and 'Dids and 'Tids

Post by MarkSturtevant »

@TexOkie:
Thank you. But that is my experience as well when they are any insect walks or crawls. Fortunately we never run out of film.
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic