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I must confess that I’ve taken the grasshoppers and crickets here for granted. Pastures teeming with the insects seem to imply that their populations are healthy…but, on a larger scale, they’re not. One day – soon, even – they may disappear.
Continue reading “Haiku: Ghost Grasshopper”
You may have discovered, as I have, that, often, the best gifts are surprises…and free. Nature is generous in its gift-giving, and we were recently gifted the experience of witnessing a caterpillar affix itself to our house’s siding, form a chrysalis, and – amazingly – emerge from that chrysalis! What luck to be present to see that newly-hatched butterfly working on unfurling its wings.
Continue reading “Haiku: Pre-Flight Check”
A caterpillar has chosen a spot on the porch’s siding for its rebirth, and I couldn’t be more pleased; I may actually have a chance to see what this fantastic creature (doesn’t it look like it belongs in the sea, rather than on land?) metamorphoses into. A moth? A butterfly? I hope I’ll find out!
Continue reading “Haiku: Ready For Change”
Butterflies may not yet have made their appearance, but some moths have…like this softly-colored White-Spotted Sable. Butterflies may get all the glory, but I think you’ll agree that this moth is lovely in its own right.
Want to know more about the differences between moths and butterflies (and see “crepuscular” in action)? Check out this post by the Library of Congress.
As the weather’s grown cooler here, I wonder how long the butterflies and bees will be around. Few flowers still remain, mostly what people would consider to be “weeds”, like thistle and a low-growing bush with miniscule white flowers. Pesky to some, these are important food sources for pollinators.
