Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Arctiinae (erebid moths)

Dr. Paul Hammond, identified the orange and black  caterpillar as Ranchman’s Tiger Moth and the other one as a Garden Tiger Moth.

At last! Something that eats Blackberry and Scotch broom! Of course at least these two also dine on Lupines. 


Photos by my wife.
"Local folklore of the American Northeast and the American South hold that "woolly bears" (or "wooly worms" in the South) have the ability to predict the weather, similar to that of the groundhog. The forthcoming severity of a winter may be indicated by the amount of black on the Isabella tiger moth's caterpillar—the most familiar woolly bear in North America. More brown than black is said to mean a mild winter, but more black than brown is supposed to mean a harsh winter.[13] However, the relative width of the black band varies among instars, not according to weather."
This is obvious, as we are currently having a record mild winter and these are more black than brown.

2 comments:

  1. Perhaps it refers to the mental state of your tenant farmer...

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  2. Only if you also dine on Scotch Broom. Then we start to worry.

    ReplyDelete