There are over two hundred different species of sliders, and most of them reside in the Americas. These turtles are recognizably different from one another, with some having red or orange markings on their shells and heads. In this blog post, we will explore four things you likely haven’t heard of about red-eared sliders. From […]
Tag: caterpillars
Eastern Tailed Blue Butterfly
My favorite detail is the ringed antennae, alternately black and white. Pretty! Also note that it has a small thin “tail” on each hindwing; when perched the butterfly typically moves its hind wings and the tails move up and down. The butterfly also sports three orange dots on the lower surface of the hindwing. Eastern […]
A Four-toothed Mason Wasp
This lovely wasp can be found drinking nectar at flowers throughout the eastern United States right now. It is a good wasp to have around the garden because the females round up leaf-rolling caterpillars — the kinds that eat your plants — to provision their nests. When it is time to reproduce, the female wasp […]
Flower Hill Farm Spring Butterflies ~ Part Two
Spring precipitates into summer and we can easily recognize the longest day of the year by how we measure time in our hurried lives. Spring or Summer Azure Celastrina ladon, Form violacea (and others)is another matter . . . as the butterflies are difficult to identify. The more experienced butterfly watchers of the invaluableMassachusetts Butterfly […]
Monarch Butterfly Metamorphosis: Part One ~ Changing Casings
The Monarch Butterfly‘s metamorphosis is a journey through clear casings beginning with an egg. A tiny caterpillar carves a hole in a clear intricately etched dome capsule and exits while entering the hairy leafy landscape of its host plant Milkweed. The teeny caterpillar then makes a meal of the nutritious casing and begins chewing its […]
Black Swallowtail Butterfly Metamorphosis
A striking male Black Swallowtail . . . the first of its kind to emerge in my barn studio last year. I was lucky early May to see this female attaching an egg to a Bishop’s weed leaf along the garden path. She may well have overwintered here in her pupa state. After she flies […]
Glimpses of a Metamorphosis ~ Raising Monarch Butterflies ~ A Sneak Peek
July’s ending finds all of my Monarch chrysalis casings empty. The joy of raising and releasing Monarch Butterflies is not finished for this year, however, for the process begins anew . . . with more eggs and small caterpillars to care for. It has been a fabulous Monarch butterfly season here at Flower Hill Farm. […]