Ack! The Letter A as it Relates to My Morning!

     Joining ABC Wednesday - Round 15     

Click on "red words above to find posts by other participants! 

 "A"

Actually,  As I was outdoors this morning, removing the spent daylily blossoms and the "empty" stems, I found myself RUNNING back into the house to retrieve my camera!

There were Absolutely no two ways about it, I had to get a photo, Alright!  For I had spotted a most unusual moth... camouflaged, no less!

Anyhoo, back to the Sunny Corner Bed I hurried!  And, Ah-Ha(!), it was still there, hiding on and in the iris foliage, As if I hadn't noticed.  :-)

Alright.  Might you be Agreed that this is no less than Awesome?  Actually,  According to Bugguide.net, it is an Eumorpha pandorus - Pandoris Sphinx. 

Awww.  Aren't you glad you Arrived here today?  Again, before you go, I'll offer a few bits of information gleaned from Wickipedia today.

Female adults lay translucent eggs singly on leaves of the host plant, mainly Vitis (grapes), which we do not have, and Parthenocissus (Virginia creeper) which is found growing all around "chez Shady!"

The larval photo below was copied from the internet, but it was taken by Patrick Coin.  I hope it is Alright that I post it below.  It might be difficult to spot the larvae...


... but I'd love to see it in person!

"Larvae consume copious amounts of foliage (which I would encourage here, as there are COPIOUS amounts of Virginia Creeper "creeping" everywhere it's allowed!) and when they are ready they climb down their host plant and burrow underground, where they pupate. The pupa is dark brown in color, quite slender, and has a long cremaster. There the pupa will remain for either a couple of weeks or a couple of months, depending on the generation. When the pupa is ready, it wiggles to the surface just prior to eclosion. The newly emerged adults then climb on a plant or some other surface, and pump fluid into their wings to extend them. Females emit pheromones at night, and males fly into the wind to pick up and track the pheromone plume." (Wickipedia)

This process is one my son and I observed first-hand when we put a tomato horn worm in an aquarium when he was quite young.  We fed it "copious" numbers of tomato branches with leaves.  It then buried in the soil.  When it was ready, the hidden pupa gave way to a sphinx moth with different markings.  :-)

Alack!  Many types of hornworm larvae (caterpillars) eat garden plants... and can cause damage.

Alas.  The best way to control may be to find and "do away" with them.

As for Me?  Stand Aside while I run back into the house!  :-)

Arrivederci!!

Shady Gardener