The third installment of rearing notes for a large group of wild caught West Coast Ladies (Vanessa annabella) found mostly as eggs on wild, introduced mallow (Malva). Rearing notes 9/27/16-9/30/16: 9/30:
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9/28:
9/27:
- Brian
Comments
Rearing notes for nine Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) eggs we found on sweet fennel (Foeniculum vulgare); only eight remains as of second instar. Starting since August, they have been becoming quite scarce so this was a fairly lucky find. It's the last brood of the year! Rearing notes 9/27/16-9/30/16: 9/30:
9/29:
9/28: 9/27:
- Brian
The second installment of rearing notes for wild caught Common Checkered Skippers (Pyrgus communis) that we found as eggs or caterpillars on wild, introduced mallow (Malva). Rearing notes 9/22/16-9/29/16: 9/29:
9/28:
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9/24:
9/23:
9/22: - Brian
Rearing notes for our second instar Calleta caterpillars (Eupackardia calleta) of F1 generation originally sourced from Arizona and reared indoors on Privet (Ligustrum). Rearing Notes 9/24/16-9/28/16: 9/28:
9/27:
9/26:
9/25:
9/24:
- Alan
Today we realized we have a fifth instar Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) caterpillar mixed in with out fifth instar West Coast Ladies (Vanessa annabella)! Yesterday, while we were cleaning out the petri dishes that we our West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella) caterpillars in, we took note of which ones were in apolysis as always and took care not to disturb them. We had quite a few -- maybe five or so -- fourth instar individuals in apolysis for fith instar. We noticed then, that one of them seemed much larger than the others, larger than perhaps a young fifth instar. At the time, it never once crossed our mind that it might be a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) caterpillar, which are normally significantly larger than V. annabella but today we found out! The fourth instar in apolysis looks more or less identical to the V. annabella fourth instars, so it was no wonder that we didn't realize earlier. Even among different V. annabella caterpillars before the fifth instar, there is very little variation (there is incredible diversity in coloration in the fifth instar, though); every single caterpillar we had looked pretty much identical. We don't know exactly when the V. cardui caterpillar molted, but it must have been a while since we checked this evening because we almost jumped back when we opened our petri dish and saw a monstrous caterpillar towering over even the largest of mature V. annabella fifth instars. Besides the ungodly size, its appearance was now distinctly different than any V. annabella caterpillar. Its body much longer and less fat compared to V. annabella, more like a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta). In addition, its coloration actually is very similar to that of a typical black morph V. atalanta that we have never witnessed in any V. annabella; the base is completely black with not red or yellow striped down the back seen in all of our V. annabella, the spiracles are outlined in yellow, and the feet are reddish. At the same time, it also doesn't look quite the same as V. atalanta. See images below. The strange part about finding this V. cardui caterpillar is that mallow (Malva) is not a particularly popular host plant. While V. cardui is probably one of the only butterflies in our area that are truly polyphagous, capable of feeding on low plants from a huge number of unrelated botanical families, it still seems unlikely that they would utilize mallow unless there is a population spike and food sources are in high demand, but V. cardui is certainly is not very common in our particular region at this particular time. A regional preferences for host plants is plausible but unlikely -- why would they compete with the abundant V. annabella which exclusively feeds on mallow? If anything, we would assume that V. cardui would more commonly utilize the milk thistles growing here but to this date we have never found one on this particular host plant in Albany. - Brian
Rearing notes for our fifth instar Eri Silkmoth (Samia ricini) caterpillars. They were originally obtained as eggs from a Europe source and reared indoors on plum (Prunus). They began hatching on 8/22/16. Rearing Notes 9/21/16-9/28/16: 9/28:
9/27:
9/26:
9/25: Fifth Instar Eri Silkmoth (Samia ricini) Caterpillar Eating Plum (3)
9/24:
9/23: Fifth Instar Eri Silkmoth (Samia ricini) Caterpillar Eating Plum (1) Fifth Instar Cynthia Silkmoth (Samia cynthia) Caterpillar Eating Plum (2)
9/22:
9/21:
- Alan
Rearing notes for our fifth instar Imperial Moth caterpillars (Eacles imperialis). These were originally obtained as eggs from a New York breeder and reared indoors on pine (Pinus) cuttings. Rearing Notes 9/15/16-9/27/16: 9/27:
9/26:
9/25:
9/24:
9/23:
9/22: Fifth Instar Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) Caterpillar Eating Pine (3)
9/21:
9/20:
9/19:
9/18:
9/17:
9/16:
9/15:
- Alan
Our oldest Achemon Sphinx caterpillars (Eumorpha achemon) have ecdysed into fourth instar. Yesterday, a few of our Achemons entered apolysis and we weren't sure if they were going to ecdyse today or tomorrow, but a few of them did it this evening. There are a few changes in the fourth isntar, most noticeably the body patterns. The white notched spots on each abdominal segment on the lateral sides are very clear and defined now, and there are many small whites spots all over the body, being more numerous and larger on the thorax. These patterns make the caterpillars more textured and attractive, with the white spots giving the body more definition in our opinion. Another change is the body color -- this is the instar in which color variants ranging from green, orange, red, brown, to grey begin appearing. All four that ecdysed today are in the orange-brown range, each varying slightly in shade. Interestingly, they were completely green when teneral, and the color change came with the melanization afterwards. Almost all the other caterpillars are in apolysis and will ecdyse tomorrow, so we're hoping to see other color variants. A few other changes in the fourth instar are that the thorax is now very thick and will likely become thicker as the caterpillars grow, and the horn, though still quite long, is shorter in relation to the body, and the button like dot at the base is larger and silver in color. These fourth instars spent just 5 days in the third instar from 9/22-9/25 and have already caught up with the Opthalm Sphinx caterpillar which also ecdysed into fourth instar today. The Achemons spent just 4 days in second instar from 9/18-9/22 and 6 days in first instar from 9/12-9/18, making it the fastest growing Sphingid relative to its size that we have reared so far. - Alan
Rearing notes for our third instar White-lined Sphinx caterpillars (Hyles lineata). These were obtained from an Oregon breeder and reared indoors on grape (Vitis). Rearing Notes 9/24/16-9/26/16: 9/26:
9/25:
9/24:
- Alan
Rearing notes for our fifth instar Indian Walking Sticks (Carausius morosus) that began hatching on 7/24 from a batch of eggs laid by our only adult female (who may be occasionally be included in the notes as well since she is still alive). The notes mostly consist of a daily count of our stock, but will sometimes include observations as well. Rearing Notes 9/18/16-9/26/16: 9/26:
9/25:
9/24:
9/23:
9/22:
9/21:
9/19:
9/18:
- Alan
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Timeline 2012–2017
Albany, California This timeline is a series of daily posts recording our observations on and experiences with various insects in Albany California and surrounding areas, from 2012-2017. Since we did not publish this site until 2016, posts before that were constructed retroactively. Starting in August 2017, we moved to Ithaca, New York; posts from there on can be viewed at Timeline 2017-present: Ithaca, New York. Archives (1,011)
August 2017 (49) July 2017 (121) June 2017 (79) May 2017 (77) April 2017 (91) March 2017 (35) February 2017 (12) January 2017 (10) December 2016 (12) November 2016 (26) October 2016 (49) September 2016 (84) August 2016 (94) July 2016 (99) June 2016 (53) May 2016 (21) April 2016 (4) January 2016 (1) August 2015 (3) July 2015 (3) June 2015 (2) June 2014 (3) May 2014 (1) April 2014 (3) March 2014 (3) December 2013 (2) November 2013 (2) October 2013 (5) September 2013 (11) August 2013 (15) July 2013 (9) June 2013 (5) May 2013 (4) April 2013 (3) March 2013 (2) February 2013 (3) January 2013 (2) December 2012 (2) November 2012 (1) October 2012 (2) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (5) July 2012 (1) June 2012 (1) Authors
![]() ![]() Full Species List (Alphabetical by scientific name) Note: - Not every species we encounter is necessarily presented on this site, rather a selection of those that were of particular interest to us and that we felt were worth documenting. - We can't guarantee that all species have been identified accurately, particularly taxa we are not as familiar with. Lepidoptera Actias luna Adelpha californica Agraulis vanillae Allancastria cerisyi Antheraea mylitta Antheraea polyphemus Anthocharis sara Argema mimosae Attacus atlas Battus philenor hirsuta Bombyx mori Caligo atreus Callosamia promethea Coenonympha tullia california Citheronia regalis Cricula trifenestrata Danaus plexippus Eacles imperialis Erynnis tristis Estigmene acrea Eumorpha achemon Eupackardia calleta Furcula cinereoides Heliconius erato Heliconius hecale Heliconius sapho Heliconius sara Hyalophora cecropia Hyalophora columbia Hyalophora euryalus Hylephila phyleus Hyles lineata Junonia coenia Langia zenzeroides formosana Lophocampa maculata Manduca sexta Morpho peleides Nymphalis antiopa Orgyia vetusta Orthosia hibisci quenquefasciata Pachysphinx modesta Papilio cresphontes Papilio eurymedon Papilio glaucus Papilio machaon oregonius Papilio multicaudata Papilio polyxenes asterius Papilio rumiko Papilio rutulus Papilio zelicaon Phyciodes mylitta Phyciodes pulchella Pieris rapae Plejebus acmon Poanes melane Polites sabuleti Polygonia satyrus Pyrgus communis Rothschildia jacobaeae Samia cynthia advena Samia ricini Smerinthus cerisyi Smerinthus ophthalmica Strymon melinus Trichoplusia ni Uresephita reversalis Vanessa annabella Vanessa atalanta Vanessa cardui Unidentified Lepidoptera Hybrids Papilio glaucus × Papilio rutulus Papilio polyxenes asterius × Papilio zelicaon Orthoptera Melanoplus devastator Phaneroptera nana Pristoceuthophilus pacificus Scudderia mexicana Trimerotropis pallidipennis Phasmatodea Carausius morosus Phyllium giganteum Mantodea Mantis religiosa Phyllocrania paradoxa Hymenoptera Apis mellifera Bombus vosnesenskii Brachymeria ovata Linepithema humile Pediobius sp. Polistes dominula Xylocopa varipuncta Unidentified Diptera Lucilia sericata Unidentified Hemiptera Brochymena sp. Leptoglossus sp. Nezara viridula Odonata Argia vivida Libellula croceipennis Coleoptera Coccinella septempunctata Cycloneda polita Diabrotica undecimpunctata Hippodamia convergens Araneae (Class: Arachnida) Araneus diadematus Phidippus johnsoni |