Whose pupa?

Moved

… john and jane balaban, 14 July, 2014 - 7:49pm

It will be interesting to see

It will be interesting to see if anyone can tell you anything more than probably a moth (or butterfly, but most likely a moth).

Thanks for thinking twice about this pupa. If it's obvious forgive me, but there would be no butterflies and moths without caterpillars and caterpillars eat plants while the adults pollinate and delight us in their beauty. Plants have defenses against caterpillars, one being to emit chemical signals that attract caterpillar predators/attackers, e.g., parasitic wasps. In the garden, as elsewhere, it's all about the balance. Rarely have I found at my place an imbalance between the caterpillars and the plants, so I leave all pupae alone. For this balance, I thank not myself and my efforts for they are surely the lesser but rather thank the wasps and the gossamer web of spineless beings and beaked birds making my place their home too.

A very nice read is Eric Grissell's "Insects and Gardens: In a Pursuit of a Garden Ecoloy." http://www.timberpress.com/books/insects_gardens/grissell/9780881927689

… sofiar, 21 June, 2014 - 9:40am

"My" pupa

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I've moved a large piece of chicken wire that was keeping the cats out of a barrel of young nasturtiums to cover the area where I found the pupa. Perhaps it will detain whatever emerges long enough for identification, and at the same time protect it from birds and cats. I've ordered the book, which sounds like exactly my kind of thing. My photographic record of the fauna that share "my" property now boasts eighty species.

… mizpiggy, 21 June, 2014 - 10:33am

Very cool! 80 species, impres

Very cool! 80 species, impressive. I too track what I see at my place.

Let us know what emerges if you get the chance to see it!

… sofiar, 22 June, 2014 - 7:00pm

Re: Cool . . .

Not so impressive, actually, as "My Fauna" includes all animals, from the red-tailed black squirrel and the matronly female cardinal to the adult male Agelenopsis spider I named "Jaws" and a leafhopper nymph barely visible to the naked eye.

The Grissell book arrived today, and I'm enjoying it. He has a nice sense of humour, and Mr. Goodpasture's photography includes lots of insect faces, which I like. Thank you again for the recommendation. Also, yesterday I picked up the 1981 Simon and Schuster Guide to Insects for a buck at a yard sale because it has a useful section on insect anatomy.

On rethinking the goofy chicken wire strategy, I tried to find the pupa to put it in a comfy pickle jar, but I couldn't find it. Sic transit . . . .

… mizpiggy, 23 June, 2014 - 2:39pm