ODC: TOO MUCH _____

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Flickr Lounge: 5 senses (taste)

I hadn't been able to identify this flower that grows on a vine near the pond (southern Indiana) but found it interesting that this nearly grown monarch caterpillar seemed to be eating them. It spent quite a bit of time with the flowers, not just passing over them. And what do you know . . . the flower seems to be bluevine milkweed. No wonder the monarch was interested! But it doesn't look like a milkweed.

Re taste: Some insects (including butterflies) can taste with their feet. The mama butterfly can tell whether the plant or flower she is on is something that her caterpillars can eat. I don't know why this caterpillar is on the "wrong" flower. Also, monarch caterpillars are brightly colored to warn those that might eat them "I taste bad." Blue jays are known to throw up after eating a monarch caterpillar, and I assume other birds do too. Plenty of creatures do prey on these, however, including flies and wasps that lay eggs that hatch into larvae that destroy the caterpillar, often from inside.

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40/100
Flickr Lounge: fill the frame

White-marked tussock moth. This small tussock moth caterpillar was a challenge to photograph: fairly small, waving in the breeze, and of a species I dared not accidentally touch. But it was also irresisitble to work to get some photos. I think this one is my favorite: it's sharp, it looks like someone jumping and throwing their hands in the air, and it has pretty bokeh. I've seen the species before, but this is the smallest one I've found. I didn't measure it at the time, but I'm thinking one-half to two-thirds an inch.

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Two of these were hanging in the air a couple of feet apart. I liked the bokeh lights behind this one.

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Flickr Lounge: textures

Its silk thread is unfortunately invisible; they're so fine that the light has to hit just right, and have the right depth of field, to include the thread.

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