Random crap with Uno.

[Unorthodox]

At eight?  Disagree.  He's a crack baby grown into a giant for his age and no good will come of this.

Yes.  At 8.  Even better.  Any of the main charity houses in your area would bring him into the family, while the ones just interested in a buck would not even think of hiring the kid.  I was 9 when I started. 

[Unorthodox]

2 more eggs tonight. 

[Buster's Uncle]

Butterfly?

[Unorthodox]

yep.  Maybe I should start selling them.   

[Unorthodox]

Talia also spotted a green caterpillar on our evening walk.  It was too far from home to capture.  No idea what it was without some real close inspection.  Too non-descript, and not on any foliage to judge by what it was eating, coulda been a dozen different things. 

[Unorthodox]

Better references for the size we're talking about this year.  1st instar.  This is why they can be so hard to find in the wild.  You really only have a few days of the classic caterpillar image in people's heads. 

At this stage, they mostly eat the 'fuzz' off the leaf and shows no real damage, practically impossible to find in the wild.  They like to get high and towards the stem of the plant at this stage. 




Of a sidebar interest to me personally.  The arrival of monarchs to my garden coincided with the disappearance of milkweed beetles.  No sign of the beetles last year, or so far this.  No idea what would have happened to the beetles unless some of the predators for the corn/pumpkin pests liked them as well, which would be rare.  Anything that feeds on milkweed is typically toxic to predators.  I do have some milkweed bugs this year, try to get a pic soon. 

Frankly, I miss the beetles.  As a general rule, beetles are more interesting than butterflies IMO. 

[Buster's Uncle]

Bees: http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=8909.0

[Unorthodox]

2nd egg hatched, 3rd is showing signs it will tonight/tomorrow morning. 

Just about getting ready for the nightly feeding. 

[Unorthodox]

Still looking for a proper macro lens on Bertha. 

[Unorthodox]

"Squiggles"


"Stripes"


Sample of what a 1st instar eats, it's not all the way through the leaf.



3rd egg will hatch tonight/tomorrow.  Talia's naming.



And, from our evening walk, isn't he cute?



It's our little zergling...err, lady bug larva. 

[Unorthodox]

Soldier fly.  Impossible to identify specific (without much better magnification).  Probably a gem.  Polinator.



Long Legged fly, predator.



Black stem weevil, sunflower pest.



Harvestman (somehow fitting for my garden), NOT a spider.

[Unorthodox]

So, one of the monarchs might be in trouble. 

That lump is not normal.  That's his former head.  If this is caused by a deformation, it will probably die in the chrysalis, or be untenable as a butterfly.  Or maybe it just got stuck when he molted. 

[Buster's Uncle]

Former head?

[Unorthodox]

Yeah...maybe former skull is more appropriate. 

It's called the head capsule, in a technical sense.  It pops off when they molt. 

[Dio]

Those are some great pictures of insects that you have taken Unorthodox  .