Sphinx?
Location: East Texas
October 19, 2010 11:35 am
Hi!
We found this poor caterpillar in our koi pond in East Texas and rescued him before he drowned. We think it might be some kind of sphinx moth, but we aren’t sure.
Signature: Kate
Banded Sphinx Caterpillar
Hi Kate,
The caterpillar you rescued is that of a Banded Sphinx, Eumorpha fasciatus. This is a highly variable caterpillar and some individuals are green, some brown, and other have intricate markings like your individual. You can see these other variations on Bill Oehlke’s website Sphingidae of the Americas.
¶ Posted 20 October 2010 § Hornworms ‡ ° Also tagged: Black Swallowtail Baby Mama to Baby Prelude to Black Swallowtail Metamorphosis
Location: Centreville, VA
August 5, 2010 3:53 pm
Hi – I have been raising Black Swallowtails and Monarchs in my garden for a couple of years now. This year I was lucky enough to see the eggs being laid.
Black Swallowtail Oviposits
I did an egg check everynight so I know for a fact the time line. These were laid on July 31 and hatched the morning of Aug 5. Just so exciting to me!
Bev Basham
Black Swallowtail Eggs
Hi Bev,
This is wonderful documentation for our readership. We generally hear about Black Swallowtail Caterpillars feeding on carrot greens or parsley, but it appears the food plant in your garden is something different. Might it be Queen Anne’s Lace? Can you please provide us with the identity of the food plant in the event others want to try to support the generation of Black Swallowtails in the home garden?
Newly Hatched Black Swallowtail Caterpillar
I think I sent the worst of two pictures of the butterfly laying eggs. This is a better shot. The plant is Bronze Fennel. I have a butterfly garden at my son’s school and the Fennel we planted there is a different version and it is taking over the world, it’s over 10 ft tall and throws seeds everywhere so we are replacing it next year with this version which seems to be shorter. I’m so glad you liked the shots. I have a pretty good macro on my camera and really enjoy getting the close up pictures of insects. There is so much more to them than we see with our eyes.
Maybe I did send the right one the first time, once it was gone I had no way of checking. I just got in from checking on the little cats and they have at least doubled in size. The first day they hatched we had a horrendous thunder storm here with high winds and I thought they got washed away but they were holding on tight. Now if I can just keep the earwigs away.
A house centipede, saved from drowning!
Dear Bugman,
I bring you good news and interesting story. Most evenings, my 2 daughters share a bath prior to bedtime. This evening my wife yelled at me to come to the bathroom during the bath as there was a ‘bug’ in the bath. I immediately thought house centipede. This was confirmed when at the bottom of the tub the centipede lay. My wife was upset and my daughter scared as I took it from the tub and brought it in the kitchen. It was limp and not moving, bad sign. I put it on a paper-towel and blew dried it. It ‘twitched’. I let it be for a bit longer, at times fanning it a bit, hoping that perhaps a bit more life would return. It was belly up and I decided to stroke it. It attached to me, most certainly a reaction to my touch. I wasn’t optimistic yet and decided to take a few pictures. As I finished taking the shots, I stroked the top of it. It starts to walk, slowly away! I capture it again for a few seconds, wishing to give it a good place to hide. I put it close to my kitchen door and gave it a nudge. He ran to the corner! I took a few more pictures of it in his hiding place. Let me know if you want to see the photos. Due to things that I have read on your website, I took extra ordinary measures to help this little guy out.
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for sending us your exciting rescue account and also for supplying the requested photo.
¶ Posted 17 May 2008 § Centipedes ‡ ° Also tagged: Tarantula identification, please
Hello,
First of all, you have a great website! The attached photograph is of a small tarantula that my friend fished out of her swimming pool here in southern California (Thousand Oaks in Ventura county). She thought is was probably dead (drowned) and as she was removing it, a tarantula hawk wasp appeared and began dive-bombing her and “fighting” her for it. When she brought it to me, we found it was alive, but seemed paralyzed. We theorized that either the wasp had already stung it and accidently dropped it in the pool on the way back to the nest or it was “brain damaged” from a near drowning (or both). Just for fun, we kept it and “nursed” it back to health over several months. Initially, we had to hold it on its back, pry its fangs back, and put a prey insect or worm in place, then let go and let the fangs reflexively spring back into place trapping the food item. Eventually, we just had to place the insect against the fangs and the spider was able to voluntarily grab it on its own with its fangs. With time, the spider regained its mobility and after several months was able to walk around its cage and catch a cricket on its own, but only if one crawled by it. It still seems rather slow moving (compared to the Mexican red knee tarantula we have) and its not a voracious eater, but its still alive after about 8 or 9 months. It has not molted yet and it is rather small so I don’t know if its a female or an immature male. It basically is just all black in coloration. Can you identify its genus and/or species? Thanks! Sincerely,
Tom Cole
Hi Tom,
This is one of the most touching letters we have ever received. What a lucky California Ebony Tarantula, Aphonopelma eutylenum. We are basing that identification on a nearly identical specimen posted to BugGuide, also rescued from a swimming pool.
red legged purse spider in Texas
Hi There!
My daughter pulled this spider out of our pool last summer. We had never seen anything like it before. I was leaning to relating it to tarantulas and my other daughter was leaning toward trapdoor types. It has taken us months to identify it. Sadly it did not live. Our question if you have time to respond is… Are they still on the endangered species list? We live in The Woodlands Texas just north of Houston. The area is very wooded and much has remained natural.
Denise Dailey
Hi Denise,
To the best of our knowledge, the Red Legged Purseweb Spider, Sphodros rufipes, is still considered endangered. At any rate, despite its fierce appearance, it is harmless and should not be killed. This is truly a gorgeous and unforgettable species. Thanks so much for sending us your photo of the unfortunate drowning tragedy. Male Mygalomorphs, including Tarantulas, Trapdoor Spiders and Purseweb Spiders, often drown in swimming pools. The males are mobile and wander in search of mates, resulting in their demise when they encounter swimming pools.
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