Polygonia interrogationis on hops

Among the many pests we discovered in our hop yard this year was the Question Mark Butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis). As late instar larvae they managed to completely defoliate an entire plant!

Of course since we are entomologists we saved the larvae in the lab to rear them into adults. The larvae are dark with bright yellow spikes

Herbert A. 'Joe' Pase III, Bugwood.org

The pupae are brown except for silver spots which can vary in size, but there are usually eight of them. They attach themselves to leaves with silk and hang there until adults emerge

Herbert A. 'Joe' Pase III, Bugwood.org

On the adult, the upperside of the forewing is red-orange with black spots. The underside is light brown and a pearly white question mark in center is often located in the center of the hindwing.

If this pest becomes a serious problem applications of Bt will control them. Please read and follow any pesticide label carefully.

Watch a Caterpillar Morph Into a Butterfly in 3-D

This is very cool!

wiredscience: butterfly metamorphosis in 3D

Moth sighting: The Imperial Moth

 Scott managed to capture some photos of this large moth that appeared on my balcony. It had probably been attracted by a light I had left on. The imperial moth (Eacles imperiali) is of the Saturniidae family. It has a wing span of 3 1/8 - 6 7/8 inches and can appear in various morphs as pictured below. The caterpillars feed on both coniferous and deciduous trees such as: pine, oak, box elder, maples, sweet gum, and sassafras. The adults do not feed.

Shawn Hanrahan at the Texas A&M University Insect Collection in College Station

We did not collect this specimen which is a good thing since I later learned that there is some evidence that this species has recently, or is currently experiencing a population decline. It is possible that it is being impacted by pesticides and/or parasitoids. Additionally, being attracted to artificial lighting increases predation risk and disrupts behaviors such as flight, reproduction, dispersal, and feeding.

Sources: butterfliesandmoths.org, Wikipedia

Just Chillin

This beautiful moth was found yesterday in the facilities services building on campus. It is a regal moth (Citheronia regalis), and I decided to put it outside on this tree to hang out before eager collectors stuck a pin in it!

These moths don't have much to do anyway. Once they are adults they don't eat a single thing, Find some friends to mate with, and die after a week or so. Best to spend your last few days relaxing!

Visit this blog to see some pics of the caterpillar, and more adults pics way better than mine:

http://livingglassart.blogspot.com/2011/09/ive-been-visited-by-royalty.html

Insect of the Week: Bagworm Moth

This week's featured insect is the bagworm moth pictured below:

Unidentified species Source: Wikipedia

These moths were given the name bagworm because their larvae construct cases out of silk and materials from the surrouding environment (such as twigs), pictured below:

Unidentified species. Source: Wikipedia

Pachythelia villosella

Source: Wikipedia

This bag protects the larva from predators and it also serves as the pupal casing. The adult female resembles are larval form and remains in the bag throughout mating and egg deposition, after which it crawls out of the bag. falls to the ground and dies. There are multiple species of this type which can cause extensive damage to trees and shrubs.