Caterpillars Archives – Strength Of The Small

Caterpillars Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Mellow Sunday

By JM PerezJune 30, 20192 min read1.2K views

It has been a busy day around the backyard garden. The weather has been cool lately, allowing us to trim most of the dead Pine Tree branches which were on our side of the property. Summer is another synonym of fire season and it never hurts to remove any fire starters around a home. That part has been completed on our side, the neighbors just have to continue working on theirs and it will be perfect.

On Friday morning we picked up a Vintage wrought iron tripled plant stand from a local store and the set of 3 cobalt blue glazed ceramic planters I bought last month look beautiful on it. The planters are filled with a variety of Echeveria succulents. Going forward with the cleanup, I have been trimming and shaping the Japanese Boxwood as well as the Common Broom shrubs, which are hosting the Genista Caterpillars, the larvae of the Genista Broom Moth, Lepidoptera Pyralidae . Yes, it’s that time of year again. I will be using a solution first thing tomorrow morning to get rid of the pests before they completely damage the plants.

The first Donkey’s Tail Succulent also known as Sedum Morganianum,blooming.

Yesterday we spent the day in Crestline, CA, shopping, sight seeing and of course, eating. It is such a beautiful and friendly little city that you can’t help but fall in love with. We stopped at a nursery and almost took the stunning Black-eyed Susan home, when I remembered that we have too many yellow flowering plants. I will be ordering the Rudbeckia “Cherry Brandy”, a new addition and different color to the garden.

Have a blessed Sunday.

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By JM Perez

Great Ash Sphinx Moth Caterpillars

Great Ash Sphinx Moth

By JM PerezJuly 29, 20141 min read3K views

As I was collecting leaves from my Raywood Ash tree a couple of weeks ago to feed the Hummingbird Moth Caterpillar we were raising in a kit, I spotted something slightly different on a leave.

Its life cycle is similar to the one of the Hummingbird Moth.

*Hummingbird Hawk-Moth Life Cycle.*
*Image Source: AnimalBook.org.*

On a closer inspection I realized it was a caterpillar similar to the tomato caterpillar. I later found that it was a Great Ash Sphinx Moth Caterpillar (Sphinx Chersis).

*Great Ash Sphinx Moth Caterpillar (Sphinx Chersis).*

Notice what will be the future proboscis at the top of the chrysalis.

*Great Ash Sphinx Moth Caterpillar (Transition).*

The first Great Ash Sphinx Moth emerged from its chrysalis approximately three and a half weeks later. Click here to learn more about this Moth.

Another thrilling experience for my kids.

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By JM Perez

Hummingbird Moth Hummingbird Hawk Moth Caterpillars

Hummingbird Moth Life Cycle

By JM PerezJuly 2, 20141 min read14.2K views

Early this month my kids suggested we collect a couple of Caterpillars of the White-lined Sphinx (Hummingbird Moth) and Hummingbird Hawk-Moth feasting on the Gaura Lindheimeri plants in the front yard garden (we got five in total during their second development stage of instar).

Hummingbird Hawk-Moth Life Cycle.
Image Source: AnimalBook.org.

*Hummingbird Moth Caterpillar second instar stage.*

A few days ago, most of our active, fascinating and ferocious eaters began to lose appetite. They started searching for a place to pupate, slightly shrunk in size and turned brown.

The first Hummingbird Moth emerged from its chrysalis approximately two weeks later and the last two emerged today, two days following the first.

*White Lined Sphinx (Hummingbird Moth).*

The whole process of feeding and watching the Caterpillars transform was a thrilling experience for my kids.

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By JM Perez

Caterpillars Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Outdoor Moments

By JM PerezAugust 16, 20132 min read457 views

It’s a lovely day here in the High Desert, except for the high temperatures. Just a couple of weeks ago, the weather seemed to be getting cooler and now we are back to Summer heat.

Not being able to do some gardening, I took a twenty minute break from my daughter to walk around the yard and admire the plants. Everything looks beautiful in the backyard, so I made my way to the front yard. Only two of my mature Rose bushes are starting to bloom and my Bird of Paradise Bush was in full bloom, with clusters of beautiful yellow flowers and red long stamens (looks more like Pink to me).

As I reached over to touch a flower, I saw a Yellow Caterpillar resting on a flower bud, which appears to be a Yellow larva of either the Cloudless Sulphur or Orange-barred Sulphur Caterpillar. If you take a closer look at the picture above, you will see what appears to be a web. That alone tells me that the yellow caterpillar is either building a tent or recently emerged from it. I love butterflies; though truth be told, I dislike the larval stage.

Yellow Caterpillar on Bird of Paradise Bush. — *Bird of Paradise Bush hosting a Yellow Caterpillar.*

My Common Broom plants are covered with Genista Caterpillars (the only plants they feed on in my yard). These caterpillars are the larvae of the Genista Broom Moth, Lepidoptera Pyralidae. Click here to read all about these caterpillars, their origins and how to manage/get rid of them.

Finally when temperatures cooled off late in the afternoon, we decided to spend the rest of the day in the backyard, organizing and cleaning up the garage. While we were busy working, my kids spotted a Sheriff Helicopter flying over the Neighborhood. It doesn’t happen quite often, so they are thrilled when they see one.

Sheriff Helicopter. — *Sheriff Helicopter flying over the Neighborhood.*

It’s Friday and I wish you all a beautiful weekend.

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By JM Perez

Caterpillars Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Nature On a Cloudy Day

By JM PerezMay 7, 20132 min read558 views

It’s been four days since the winds started, with a little rainfall on Sunday night.
This morning I suited up and went to the backyard to make sure nothing was broken and that nothing big landed into our property (like the huge cardboard box which I found on Saturday morning nicely tucked beneath my Texas Sage shrub). I was pleasantly surprised once I stepped out. It wasn’t as cold, the winds were light and the air was fresh (I have always loved the smell of clean dirt after the rain). As I walked all the way to the backyard and back to the front yard, I saw the beautiful Red and Yellow Freesia below. Such a beautiful scented flower.

In the garden today, I noticed something feeding on my Gaura Lindheimeri (Wand flower).
As I took a closer look, I realized it was a large caterpillar with a green head and orange spike on its tail. Mostly green with some black and tiny yellow spots. My first reaction was to jump as I freaked out (I am not fond of caterpillars and everything that looks and acts like one, even if it’s not one). My husband and the kids came out to check it out and after noticing a few birds around it, my husband relocated it on a branch of a shrub (Photinia Fraseri). Later in life, these Caterpillars turn into Hummingbird Moths.

White-lined Sphinx Moth Caterpillar. — *White-lined Sphinx Caterpillar.*

After all the fun with the caterpillar, I deadheaded some roses. One of these days, when I won’t be as busy, I will blend a Potpourri mixture by drying out my rose heads and adding some scented oils.