Our oldest third instar Imperial caterpillar (Eacles imperialis) ecdysed into fourth instar. Yesterday, our oldest third instar Imperial caterpillar entered apolysis for fourth instar. Throughout most of the day today, it was still in apolysis with its head capsule quite loose. However, some time during the evening, it ecdysed into a black form fourth instar. We were assuming it would probably be a brown or green form, but it seems we were wrong since this individual is pitch black in color -- even darker than it was last instar which was already very dark. Its head capsule, body and horns are all completely black. Asides from color change, its white hairs are much longer and thicker, thus making them very easy to see, especially on the black body. Shape wise, there are some proportional differences. All horns/soli on the body have been reduced from last instar. The four large thoracic horns are now short and thick and are uniform in color from base to tip. The large middorsal horn which used to be the same six as the thoracic horns is now reduced into a tiny spike that is almost unnoticeable. All the remaining small scoli along the body are now almost completely gone and cannot be seen through the long white setae; they will likely disappear completely later in the instar as the body gets plumper and stretched. We were somewhat disappointed that this one became a black form since its not a very attractive color, though we will definitely see all the color forms after the others molt into fourth instar! This individual spent approximately 6 days in the third instar from 8/29-9/4 which is quite fast since second instar lasted 6 days and 12 hours from 8/23-8/29 and first instar took 7 days from 8/26-8/23. There are currently 3 more third instars in apolysis which will probably ecdyse tomorrow or the day after. Fourth Instar Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) Caterpillar Eating Pine (1) Fourth Instar Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) Caterpillar Eating Pine (2)* *Shown in 8x speed - 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)
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![]() ![]() 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 |