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Post by rockpickerforever on May 12, 2015 13:35:05 GMT -5
I haven't been playing with rocks at all lately, no slabbing, cabbing or wrapping All I do is move them around, out of my way, lol.
And no pictures taken of any warm and fuzzy cute little animals, either. Sorry.
But ya know I am always good for posting the weird sh!t. Anybody know what type of caterpillar this is? I think I know. Found this out in Santee, CA, in the swap meet parking lot a couple weekends ago. It's about an inch and a half long.
Looked on the internet, and may have found it:
Not exactly the same, but do you think it's a match? Hemileuca nevadensis - Nevada Buck Moth Others have found them in Santee, so not a stretch.
This ain't Nevada, but apparently, they are pretty widespread - Wisconsin west across southern Canada to central Oregon; south through central Nebraska to New Mexico, northern Arizona, northern Nevada, and inland southern California. Why had I never seen one before?
They thrive in riparian habitat (such as San Diego riverbed). Foods of choice are alder, willow, poplar and cottonwood. Photos online show young caterpillars in large masses, just annihilating the vegetation.
Supposedly, the hairs are stinging, but I had no problem handling it. Could be my calloused hands? As long as you are not rough with it, and don't break the hairs, no problemo.
The moth it turns into looks like this:
This is a male (see the structure of the antenna?). Only the males have red. I've never seen one before, but understand they are very common out in the riverbed in Santee.
Okay, biology lesson for today completed, class dismissed!
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Post by captbob on May 12, 2015 15:29:38 GMT -5
Brecciated with yellow poppies.
duh...
Make a nice wire wrap!
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megalotis
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2009
Posts: 226
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Post by megalotis on May 12, 2015 15:59:20 GMT -5
Believe me, those "hairy" caterpillars can get you! I remember as a kid my brothers and I were walking home along the railroad tracks after a hard day of fishin', and we found these pretty little caterpillars. My little bro liked them enough that he picked several up and put them in his shirt pocket so he could show Mom. When we got home, the left side of his chest was all broken out with a nasty rash. If you looked closely, you could see the tiny caterpillar hairs sticking out of his skin! So, they're safe to handle in your hands, due to the toughness of the skin there, I guess. Just don't take them home in your shirt pocket to introduce them to your mother!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,709
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Post by Fossilman on May 12, 2015 16:03:17 GMT -5
Well "Jean" can you eat it? A bit of BBQ sauce and sauté it..
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 16:04:01 GMT -5
Okay Jean, you need to find some more and send them to captbob. Bob, you may be able to stretch them out a little, put some tanning stuff on them so they don't rot and stink then do a groove wrap with them. The only problem I see is finding women with a calloused chest. When ya git er done I will give you a hand finding the women. What's a black eye or two for a good cause? Jim
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Post by drocknut on May 12, 2015 18:04:08 GMT -5
Well "Jean" can you eat it? A bit of BBQ sauce and sauté it.. Ewwww gross
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,484
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Post by Sabre52 on May 12, 2015 18:56:56 GMT -5
If you were to step on one or, as I once did, kneel bare legged on a buck moth caterpillar, it would really get your attention. The sting is quite intense and does not go away for a bit....Mel
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Post by Pat on May 12, 2015 19:13:12 GMT -5
Those little guys with the small milkweed flowers are cute! Wouldn't want to eat one, even with bbq sauce.
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Post by rockpickerforever on May 13, 2015 14:26:46 GMT -5
New developments!!
I had brought this caterpillar home to wait for it to pupate, so I could see what it turned into. I put it in a jar with some sticks so it could climb up and hang from the top when it was ready. Dang thing never did climb up the sticks, for whatever reason, but instead just laid in the bottom of the jar.
When I checked it this morning, this is what I discovered:
When I first found the critter, it was moving rapidly across the parking lot. I figured it was heading for somewhere to climb and start to pupate. Didn't have to wait long, has only been 11 days since that time.
Cast-off skin and spines. Won't need these anymore!
About an inch and a quarter long
Now we wait for the moth to emerge. Will update with photos of that!
ETA: It has been pointed out to me that the probable reason the caterpillar did not climb the sticks to start its journey to being a winged entity is because it should have gone underground! It is not a chrysalis, like a butterfly, but a pupa.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2015 17:54:21 GMT -5
When it ecloses put a pin in it and mount it. Hope you get a male!!
Nice detective work.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,484
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Post by Sabre52 on May 13, 2015 18:26:53 GMT -5
Yeah, buck moths, like all the sphinx moths, pupate underground, though I seem to remember sphinx moths have a little jug handle thing on the pupal case...Mel
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