#it was a dagger moth caterpillar I think

[butcherb1rd]

love it when my brother walks in with a very clearly poisonous caterpillar on his hand and it just. doesn’t hurt him at all. i’m like dude!!! that little guy is dangerous!!! and my brother is just no he’s not :) and the caterpillar does nothing

[flufflecat]

found a friend in the backyard and have named him Bill

[breadhalfburnt]

currently on a hike and found a critter!!

[casually-salad]

i dont think i posted this boy i drew.. (( american dagger moth caterpillar ))

[rebeccathenaturalist]

So I am mildly obsessed with the various and sundry fuzzy caterpillars that show up in droves this time of year. We have tons of Isabella (Pyrrharctia isabella) and Virginia tiger moths (Spilosoma virginica), spotted tussock moths (Lophocampa maculata), and even the occasional western tussock moth (Orgyia vetusta), but I found a new one to add to my iNaturalist records today--the large gray dagger moth caterpillar (Acronicta insita)!

I was at the Tarlatt Unit of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge for my third and final tour I'm guiding for this year's Wings Over Willapa birding and nature festival. Tarlatt is part of the South Bay Unit, and I really love it because it has several distinct habitat types--meadow, vernal pond, freshwater wetland, mixed conifer forests of various ages, an old apple orchard, and of course the tidal wetlands around Tarlatt Slough. The meadow was full of insects, to include several caterpillar species. We saw this one as we were backtracking to head over to view the restoration that's been done at the south end of Willapa Bay. Where other fuzzy caterpillars have been sort of bottle-brush in configuration, this little critter looks like it got into the hair gel XD. In fact, I think I know where I've seen that hair before...

(No offense to Johnny Rotten, of course; if I'm comparing you to one of the coolest critters I've seen lately, consider it a compliment.)

Anyway, the whole tour was a success; we got to see a belted kingfisher, kestrels, a spotted sandpiper, some of the last yarrow and California poppy blooms of the year, the apple trees with red-breasted sapsucker holes, coyote scat, and a dead shrew that will likely become coyote scat soon. A perfect day, complete with a new addition to my Fuzzy Caterpillars of Pacific County roster :)

[paledoptera]

Glad you liked the snowberry clearwing suggestion! Big flashy ones like a lot of saturniids are somewhat hard to come by here (one of the more notable instances I've been able to find is the time someone found a cecropia cocoon in the woods and it ended up on the news because nobody who saw it initially knew what it Was lmao), so we've got a lot of smaller, less distinct (or at least less well known) ones - That clearwing is probably the most unique of them, but there's some others that are relatively notable, I think!

We've got a few sphinx moths - While at the mall this past summer, I had an encounter with a lettered sphinx, namely one with a reddish spot on the back like the one in sighting 1347349 on butterfliesandmoths (dot) org, but I would argue the one that leaves the most impression after the clearwing is the white-lined sphinx! They're another one that's fairly commonly referred to as a hummingbird moth, despite not being closely related to the hummingbird hawk-moth of Eurasia - A lot of sphinx moths around here have similar sizes and flight patterns to hummingbirds and also tend to hover around flowers when feeding, so they're all largely lumped in as "hummingbird moths" by casual observers, but the white-lined sphinx is probably the one most commonly referred to as such.

Outside of the sphinx moths, a REALLY distinct family we have here are the plume moths - They have a frankly bizarre shape to them, with a long, thin body almost more resembling a dragonfly than a moth in shape, and long, thin wings near the front of the body, so that, when at rest, they form an almost T shape. There's a few different species here, but the most common one I've seen is the morning glory plume moth - There's usually one or two hanging out on my front door during the warm months at night! Weird little dudes, they give me robber fly "what the fuck is that??? what IS that?????" vibes.

As far as smaller, less distinct moths go, there's a few here that are better known for their status as caterpillars than the moths themselves - We have both Isabella tiger moths and Virginian tiger moths here, better known as the wooly bear and yellow wooly bear in their larval forms, respectively! There's also the American dagger moth, which has a rather nondescript appearance as an adult, but a very distinct one in its larval form! As caterpillars, they've got a very dark face, and are covered in pretty vivid yellow yellow hairs, with a few black tufts that resemble spikes - There are some reports of skin irritation from their hairs, but they're seemingly non-venomous!

Another moth larvae that causes skin irritation, this time due to their hairs being toxic to humans, is the brown-tail moth! They're not native to the US, but there is a population in New England after they were introduced, and they've been particularly widespread where I live for the past decade - In 2018, the front wall of my then-workplace was absolutely COVERED in the adult moths, which are white with, as the name implies, brown tails (sometimes bordering on reddish). A few of them actually made their way into the building, and I brought them back outside - Interestingly, they lose the toxins in their hairs after they pupate, so adults don't cause a rash the way the caterpillars do! They used to be significantly more widespread through eastern North America, but they've declined for... not-fully-clear reasons, but one theory suggests that their population was suppressed by parasitic fly species introduced to counter ANOTHER introduced moth, the spongy moth (Whose scientific name is lymantria dispar! The name spongy moth is a relatively new one for it, so you may find more documentation using its scientific name than its common one. It was formerly known by another common name, but that name also happens to include a slur, so! I'm gonna make the choice to Not include that here 👍👍👍)! They've got some neat sexual dimorphism going on - In addition to the relatively common antennae size difference, males are a light brownish color, while females are a rather bright white with sort of rippled brown striping on the wings! I personally think the females stand out as more flashy than the males, which is neat to see, as someone who also gets a kick out of birds, where the opposite is often true - Usually in birds males are the ones with the more flashy plumage, or at the very least, females tend to have more spotted or mottled colorations in species with dimorphism, to help keep them more hidden while nesting. Even species with relatively little dimorphism beyond size tend to display this pattern - Common barn owls, for instance, can often be differentiated by spotting on the breast and the color of the feathering around the facial disc, where females tend to have heavier black spotting than males (whose breasts are often white with no spotting at all, though they get speckling occasionally) and also have darker facial disc feathers. (I follow an artist in the UK who has livestreams of the raptors that use the nest boxes in his garden, and he works alongside a rehabber who visits when their hatchlings get old enough - Some of the species he has are hard to differentiate even as adults by visual alone, but for barn owls, those are the standard ways of sexing owlets when they're getting their ID rings. But that's getting a bit off topic lol)

Anyway, the male spongy moths veer a bit in to LBJ territory, to borrow a birding term (LBJ stands for "little brown job" and is sometimes used by birders to refer to those fairly common brown birds that are difficult to distinguish - Trying to tell sparrows apart at a glance, for example), which is where a lot of the other moths here fall into. A lot of them aren't especially distinct, often various browns and greys - I'd say even that lettered sphinx I mentioned at the start probably falls into that territory if you're not as Normal About Bugs And Birds As Me. We do have one seemingly-LBJ moth that stands out off the top of my head, though - Amphipyra pyramidoides, or the copper underwing of the US (a distinct species from the copper underwing of the palaearctic), looks like a pretty unremarkable LBJ when its wings are folded up at rest, but as the name implies, the underwings have a distinct copper color that can be seen with their wings outstretched! Underwing moths have a bunch of species with that trait of colorful lower wings, highly recommend poking through them if you have a chance.

Anyway, that's a bit long, so TLDR: I'm Just A Touch Autistic and had a bit too much time at work with the snow this morning keeping customers away and yelling about moths is how I opted to spend the slow day, I suppose bfnfngmdngndn No pressure to read all of that if you haven't already, or to respond to it, naturally! I just get a kick out of cramming excessive amounts of words about bbugs (and bbirds) through my ISP's wires haha. Thanks again for the moths, and I'm glad to hear you're recovering well! And I gotta say, even if they're intended as a sort of quicker and easier, tiding things over while you're sick solution between the more detailed pieces (which are Very Good, for the record), I also love the ms paint moffs tbh. Iconic.

i don't know who you are anon but i love you thank you for putting an entire ass essay about moths in my inbox i knew about a lot of these species (because i'm a nerd who does a lot of research about shit) but i didn't actually know about plume moths!! they look really cool, def gonna draw them at some point.

they remind me of like, dragon wings or bat wings

[casper-nottheghost]

Funky little caterpillar. I think he’s a dagger moth caterpillar

[bisonaari]

My little low-key hobby is finding cool bugs when I go on walks and identifying them, here's the coolest one I've seen this year!!!

As far as I can tell from google it is an evergreen bagworm moth, they make these cases around themselves out of silk and leaf/evergreen needle fragments !! I saw this guy on the sidewalk next to a bunch of his friends and I thought they were weird twigs until they started moving but yeah I think they're so cool :D

I AM SO JEALOUS RN I HAVE NEVER SEEN A BAGWORM MOTH IN PERSON!! They're so cool omg 😭😭💚💚

My personal faves to see on walks here is the caterpillar of the american dagger moth

LOOK AT THE FLOOF

[abstract-hellbender]

Hey folks !! Doing something new right now. I've always meant to post the silly critters I've found while out and about, I've just never gotten around to it 😭😭 I'll try to ID the animals in my pics, though feel free to correct me if I get any wrong 😈😈 I'm posting insects here and I'll post the snakes n frogs next.

First off is this American Dagger Moth caterpillar. I don't recommend touching them - their bristles irritate skin ☹️ This guy was chill though.

Heres a MASSIVE praying mantis, I think a Chinese mantis? This guy was BIG, maybe about 6 or 7 inches long. Very calm, flew away into a tree after I took this pic.

Here's a SUPER SLAY cicada, either an Eastern Scissor Grinder or some Dog Day Cicada? I'm not really sure - this guy has a funky pattern. It let me get incredibly close (a FOOT AWAY IM SERIOUS)

Here are a WHOLE BUNCH of pics I took when the 17 year cicadas came out around 2 years ago. It was probably the coolest thing I've ever experienced in my life (so SO loud, but so fucking cool. THEY WERE EVERYWHERE!!! First time a cicada flew into my shirt also 😎😎😎) I LOOOOVE cicadas they're one of my favourite animals of all time 😭😭😭😭😭

Finally, the coolest damn guy I've ever seen in my life - a polyphemus moth. A POLYPHEMUS MOTH. Literally the coolest moth I have a picture of. It was MASSIVE. Such a beautiful moth 😭😭😭😭

[tomb-mold]

met a fuzzy little dude who matches my book

[onenicebugperday]

@msbriket​ submitted: There’s a beautiful caterpillar in a bush by my house, that I think is a Grey Dagger

And when I went to the park I found a tree completely covered in these black larva and an adult of some kind of leaf beetle I think. Also a pretty Scorpionfly

(I’m in The Netherlands)

It does indeed look like a grey dagger moth! Love how the leaf beetle larvae are skeletonizing that leaf! Hope they’re enjoying their meal. The larvae look like they’re on alder leaves? So possibly alder leaf beetles. I’m terrible at IDing plants, though. I’d need a clearer photo of the adult beetle, especially the head and antennae to ID it because there are about 5 species that look super similar. Could be an adult of the larvae, though, or a willow leaf beetle. But yes the last fellow is a scorpionfly, great find!

[bucketotrolls-moblie-profiles]

Mobile Profiles

Name: Amitsu Katoru

Type of Troll: Land 

Gender: Male 

Age:10.15(21)

Blood: Gold 

Height: 6'6

Sign:  Gemries sign of the Savy

Wrigglering day: May 25

Voice Claim: Here

Lusus: Alligator Crossed with a Bear.

Typing quirk: Replaces As with @s

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

The owner of a cafe called HoneyBees.

2. Could whip up a custom tea that fits the troll’s personality.

3. Eastern Alterian with a bit of Southern. 

4. Amitsu loves large women. 

Quardrants:

Matespritship: Taluco Lalens @ask-swagger-dagger-trolls shipname: Strawberry Tea

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Calice Wahron

Type of Troll: Mutant River

Gender:She/Her

Age: 12.92 (28)

Blood: Olive

Height: 5'11

Sign:  LESCES sign of the instructor

Wrigglering day: April 1

Voice Claim: here

Lusus: large Mexican Burrowing Toad named Baba Granham

Typing quirk: replaces K with 8, and E is 3

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

A Mud color artist who makes her own paint.

Fresh water dweller who can not go into the sea.

Tends to nap on the river letting it take her anywhere in her boat. 

Has a small collection of books.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: crushing

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Epoina Hompis

Type of Troll: Land

Gender: She /Her 

Age:10.15  (22) 

Blood: Indigo

Height: 6'0

Sign:  Sagillo sign of the Lofty

Wrigglering Day: November 21st

Voice Claim: here

Lusus: A horse size Valais Blacknose sheep known as Rosie Mcflufbottom or Baa Mama

Typing quirk:Replacing a with ą Ą,o with ø Ø and u with ű Ű.

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

“ Høly Eąrth Crąwlers! Løøk ąt this plące”

Much prefers to live off the land than living in luxury.

Has a massive collection of gems and artifacts. 

Tends to travel far from home for days at a time.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: Vohert Bogart @princeofdoomrps​  -Blueberry Strudels

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Ginlee Meggle

Type of Troll: Land 

Gender:She /Her 

Age:8.77(19)

Blood: Purple 

Height: 7'4

Sign:  CAPRIST SIGN OF THE AUDACIOUS

Wrigglering Day: November 2

Voice Claim: Here

Lusus: medium size chinchilla with goat hooves named Atari Dustybottom

Typing quirk: start ～♪ and ～♬

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Not used to new things, Ginlee tends to become overly nervous about it.

Secretly writes slam poetry which she thinks as bad. 

Has a knowledge of different hues of paint and what would look good.

Its best not to touch Kotton, unless you wish to become paint.

Quardrants: 

Matespritship: Kotton Poplus- candy pop

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Kimaoi Midria

Type of Troll: Land

Gender: She /Her 

Age: 11.55(25)

Blood: Bronze 

Height: 5'4

Sign:  TAURPIA SIGN OF THE AESTHETE

Wrigglering Day: October 13th

Voice Claim: here

Lusus: Six legged Peruvian guinea pig named Cornwall Barnesly or guinny dad

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Typing quirk: Puts ‘¥’ in front of a sentence

Has her own small home business.

Cute and shy on the outside, horror movie junkie on the inside.

Trying to be comfortable in her own skin again.

Pop Karaoke queen.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: Luxura Welran @mortuo-trolls

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Kotton Poplus

Type of Troll: Land 

Gender:She /Her 

Age:8.77 (19)

Blood: Lime

Height:  5'3

Sign: CANNIUS SIGN OF THE THEATRICAL

Wrigglering day: August 17

Voice Claim: here

Lusus: A large maincoon\ persian purrbeast named Bobbinsnot

Typing quirk: Doubles her os

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

A bottle of extreme ball lightening.

Can bend her arm backwards along with several other parts of her body. 

Probably the biggest fan of clowns.

Absolutely a wild party girl. 

Quardrants:

Matespritship: Ginlee Meggles- CandyPop

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Luenna Coutls

Type of Troll: Mutant land dweller

Gender: She/her

Age: 12.92 (28)

Blood: Indigo 

Height: 7'7 tail 6ft

Sign: Doesn’t have a sign

Wrigglering Day: July 16

Lusus: A scale jaguar dragon mix

Voice Claim: Here

Typing quirk: ༄ at beginning and ending of each sentences.

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Will run away from any loud noises or strangers. Or the combination of the two.

Carries around a snuggle pelt for comfort.

Doesn’t get outside that much, so we’ll add anything new may scare her to the list. 

Has a weakness to hot rocks.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Sprites and character design are done by :

@you-cansci-me​

Name: Mariuz Panais

Type of Troll: Land

Gender:He /Him

Age: 9.69(21)

Blood: Lime 

Height: 5'6

Sign:  CANRIUS SIGN OF THE HELPER

Wrigglering day: December 21

Voice Claim: here

Lusus:  A pig and elephant hybrid named Percilla 

Typing quirk: Having put double letters on some words like ‘ms’,’is’ as well four letter words with ‘as’

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Third fastest delivery troll by bike. 

Tends to be overly nervous whenever teased,scared or if he is near someone he likes. 

Is known to dance to pop music while at home. 

Whenever he is nervous, Mairzu will smell of candy.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: crushing

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Mariot Lotora

Type of Troll: Land 

Gender:She /Her 

Age:11.55(25)

Blood: Jade 

Height: 6’7

Sign:  Virus SIGN OF THE ADAPTABLE

Wrigglering day: January 1

Voice Claim: here

Lusus:  A six arm kangaroo

Typing quirk: Doubles her Xs,Ws, and Us

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Always making sure everyone in the caverns has something to eat before studying. 

Manages the largest recording of troll ancestorsty . 

First time being a mother to her own wriggler. 

Often panics whenever something goes wrong making it appear worse than it actually is. 

Quardrants:

Matespritship:Aidore Mikriu

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Nefiri Bastia

Type of Troll: Land

Gender:She /Her

Age:10.15(22)

Blood: Olive

Height: 6'10

Sign:  LENIUS SIGN OF THE RESTLESS

Wrigglering day: April 13

Voice Claim: Here

Lusus: A giant size sabertooth Wombat named Bruce Mamaro

Typing quirk: uses capitalize on all her Ss, Cs and Vs

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Was formerly the top huntress of her tribe.

Takes play fighting a bit too far at times.

Very competitive.

 Hates Cucumbers with a passion. 

Quardrants:

Matespritship: Matespritship: Mekale - @ask-swagger-dagger-trolls - Flying Sqitties

Moirail: open

Kismesis: Irados Blitza - @ask-a-few-trolls

Auspistice: open

Name: Nixiie Apilon 

Type of Troll: Land? 

Gender: She/Her 

Age: 11.08(24)

Blood: Jade 

Height: 5’3

Sign:  Virga sign of the pure

Wrigglering day: March 20th

Voice Claim: Here

Lusus: A fluffy luna moth caterpillar with cat face and long tail (currently in a cacoon)

Typing quirk: uses a ❀ when talking 

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

She will proceed to go after the shiny thing until she catches it. 

Nixiie and technology do not mix. 

❀ But why can’t I jump out the window! Its fun!❀

Natural flower child. 

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Rafina Uymumi

Type of Troll: Sea Dweller 

Gender:She /Her 

Age:12 (26)

Blood: Violet 

Height: 6'10

Sign:  Aquius SIGN OF THE WHIMSICAL

Wrigglering day: September 22

Voice Claim: here

Lusus: large four eye plesioaur named Morgana

Typing quirk: ♯ and a few fish puns

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Known for her high ring acrobatic dance.

Tends to bing watch fantasy movies and shows. 

Had done private shows, if the patron is willing to pay for it.

Has a secret journal half filled with stories about fantasies. 

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

 Name: Orchid Roeana

Type of Troll: Land 

Gender:He/Him 

Age:13.38(29)

Blood: Jade 

Height: 6'6

Sign:  Viries sign of the mother 

Wrigglering Day: August 23

Voice Claim: here

Lusus: large stork and swan hybrid known as Ms Paradox Space Stork

Typing quirk:  Start and end with ❦

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Never stay in one spot for long.

Has a bottomless bag.

Tends to sneak mutated grubs to grubless lusus.

Tries his best to save everyone even if they appear to be a lost cause.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

 Name: Uniico Katiwa

Type of Troll: Land 

Gender: He/Him 

Age:10.15 (21)

Blood: Bronze 

Height: 5'5

Sign:  TAURMINO Sign of the lonely 

Wrigglering Day: July 23

Voice Claim: here

Lusus: A large sheep dog?

Typing quirk:⊱:3   at the start and end of every sentence. 

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Is a proud descent of a woolbeast herder.

He thinks all sea dwellers are just mutated purples.

Knows his ways around fabric.

Uniico knows the mountains the back of his hand. 

Quardrants:

Matespritship: Lavase Copory belongs to @leethetrashpage​ - SilkPom

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

character design are done by : @ask-these-fantrolls​

Name:  Pohkin Boines 

Type of Troll: Land 

Gender:She /Her 

Age:9.69(21)

Blood: Rust

Height: 6'5

Sign:  Arsci SIGN OF THE MEDIC

Wrigglering day:June 20

Voice Claim: Here

Lusus:  A long horned saola

Typing quirk:replaces I with  î  Î and t with ť Ť

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

High maintenance should be her middle name. 

A lady of high society living fantasy.

Takes pride in both her garden and weave care.

God forbid if you enter her hive with dirty shoes. 

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Wilton Maytio

Type of Troll: Land

Gender: He/Him

Age:9.23(20)

Blood: Teal 

Height: 6’4

Sign:  Libiborn Sign of the Finale  

Wrigglering day: October 4

Voice Claim: here

Lusus: A panther size Siamese cat

Typing quirk: ♘ has a knight at the beginning and end of his sentences. 

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Is the pain of the ass of the office.

Has a large collection of wind up toys.

Willing to take on a case if you are able to help him out with a prank.

A regular charming tomcat. 

Quardrants:

Matespritship: crushing

Moirail: open

Kismesis: Eyries Stigot- @abysmaltourmaline

Auspistice: open

Name: Belity Talkar

Type of Troll: Land 

Gender: She/Her 

Age: 11.08(24) 

Blood: Teal 

Height: 5’3

Sign:  LIBUS SIGN OF THE VIBRANT

Wrigglering Day: August 4

Voice Claim: Here

Lusus: One arm silverback Gorilla. 

Typing quirk: replaces Cs and Ds with Çč and Ðð

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Has proven she is a lethal little thing.

A siren in lounge singer clothing. 

Takes great care with her nails.

A devil in disguise.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: Xariie Yrictt belongs to @leethetrashpage​ ship name: Retro Playlist.

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Guroka Azothi

Type of Troll: Land 

Gender: She /Her 

Age:8.31(18)

Blood:  Lilac 

Height: 7’7

Voice Claim: Here

Sign:  CAPRINIUS SIGN OF THE CREDULOUS

Wrigglering Day: September 6, 2019

Lusus: Twin tailed Spider Monkey

Typing quirk: uses Replaces H with 🍬. 

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Wants to be part of a eastern alterinan idol group.

Can’t tell the difference what’s real and not real.

Has a fantastic smile.

A big fan of eastern alterian sweet fashion. 

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Sprites are done by : @ask-these-fantrolls​

Name: Himwai Mippei

Type of Troll: Land

Gender: She /Her 

Age:17.54(38)

Blood: powder blue

Height:  6'3

Sign:  SCORCEN SIGN OF THE UNITER

Wrigglering Day: February 18,

Voice Claim: here

Lusus: Giant Sugar Glider

Typing quirk: starts sentences with expression emojis (≧◡≦)

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Will mispronounce names.

Study to become a lab technion. 

Known to crochet small stuffed animals and other items.

Has an addiction to a drug known as ‘Delightful drops’.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: 

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Caesar Pizpea

Type of Troll: Land 

Gender: He/Him 

Age: 11.54(25)

Blood: Indigo 

Height: 11’11

Sign:  SAGIGA SIGN OF THE BUILDER

Wrigglering Day:  May 8

Voice Claim: Here

Lusus: A small Belted Galloway cow named Bluebabe

Typing quirk: Replaces Oos with Öö and Ee with  Éé

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll: 

Large body but a rather tiny brain

Overly friendly to small creatures, tends to hug them a bit too tight.

Able to lift a 20 ft tree out roots and all.

Has gotten his head stuck in a paper bag, and mistook it as a cave.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Mascar Oachri

Type of Troll: Land 

Gender: He/Him 

Age: 23.08(50)

Blood: Lime(#7fc924)

Height: 8’5

Sign:  [recated] 

Wrigglering Day:  unknown

Voice Claim: wip

Lusus: Red panda

Typing quirk: ♕  ♛

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll: 

Drinks a strange combination of brandy and whisky on the rocks.

Has a strong distaste of high pitch singing and anything pop related.

Once a mafia hitman.

He is mister gives no fucks.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Byuria Matlip 

Type of Troll: Land 

Gender: She/Her

Age:  8.31 (18)

Blood: Teal(#33a1a1)

Height: 5’9

Sign:  Limino Sign of the Endurer 

Wrigglering Day:  August 12

Voice Claim: here

Lusus: A Bat Ear Fox Papillon mix.(descese ) 

Typing quirk: ꧁ ꧂At the begining and end of each sentence.  

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll: 

Can easily walk on her hands. 

Byuria use to be a graceful dancer.

Mosty mute but, tends to speak whenever she feels comfortable or needed to.

Had made her own patchwork dolls for comfort. 

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name:  Anthus Carphi

Type of Troll:  

Gender: They/Them

Age:15.69(34)

Blood: Purple

Height: 7’7

Sign:  [recatcted]

Wrigglering Day: May 14

Lusus:  wip

Voice Claim: here

Typing quirk:✧

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Will end a career in seconds if they doesn’t like you.

Devil in spike heel boots.

Has been the top model for fashion week.

Takes the art of the theater very seriously. 

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: Joviia Gorgol belongs to @leethetrashpage​ Spotlight-Thieves

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Ostara Purima

Type of Troll: Land

Gender: She/Her

Age:  11.08(24)

Blood: Jade

Height: 6’0

Sign: wip

Wrigglering Day:  March 19

Voice Claim: Here

Lusus:  A large sea otter

Typing quirk:  Replaces E with ☘️

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll: 

Is the top of her class in the medical healing training and top of her class. 

Is an overachiever and a grub hatched bookworm.

A coffee addict whenever she needs something done ahead of a deadline. 

Nixiie is her partner whenever group projects come, as well tutoring her on the side.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

character design are done by : @mycrappyrpsideblog​

Name: Odoria Eander

Type of Troll: land

Gender: She/Her

Age:  18.46(40)

Blood: Purple

Height: 7’6

Sign: wip

Wrigglering Day: September 30

Voice Claim: here

Lusus: wip

Typing quirk:♗  beginning of every sentence and capitalizing M and W.

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

A devoted follower and second preacher of her church.

Has the most sales in the bake sales.

Appears ditzy and sweet but has a bit of a bitter dark chocolate side.

Odoria host the best movie night.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

Name: Ambean Saraza

Type of Troll: Sea Dweller

Gender: She/her

Age:  (21)

Blood: pastel indigo

Height: 7’9

Sign: wip

Wrigglering Day: January 12

Voice Claim:

Lusus: her mama Perlas and her lusus a 12 foot long Oarfish.

Typing quirk:  replaces B with 🍑

Four bulletpoint facts about the troll:

Ambean is very playful though she doesn’t realize the other party is playing or not.

Her tribe is under a coral reef with a maze of tunnels for above and under the water.

A chalk artist, though it’s hard to find white chalk.

Ambean is the cause of a lot of capsizing for a lot of tribes who might be out on the water.

Quardrants:

Matespritship: open

Moirail: open

Kismesis: open

Auspistice: open

[bugsaregoodtoo]

Some outside friends!! The caterpillar was from a bit ago but I thought I had already posted it but I hadn’t so here you go! The first is another little zebra jumping spider, the second is a European garden spider I believe and was so very pretty and finally what I think is a grey dagger moth caterpillar and the little guy was having a feast on my dwarf chestnut tree

[aggrus]

okay so. this is one part of a whole set of creatures and monsters that took way, way too long to finish. and i would have liked to stat them out for d&d or something as well as do digital versions but i don’t have time now. but i will write little blurbs about them!

A - Silver Kharnek: A brilliantly colored being from another world, serving as bloodhounds for some unknown entity. Despite having six eyes their eyesight is quite poor, usually relying on smell or soulsense. Their tails have venomous barbs.

B - Shield Slime: A slime that enjoys the feeling of metal in its body. They prefer to keep shields on their fronts and backs, swords and daggers to their sides, and helmets on top. No one is quite sure how they tell the difference.

C - Cycloise: A one eyed turtle like creature. They are incredibly slow and not much of a threat but can grow to the size of a pig. Typically used as livestock they do possess minor magical spells and their eyes are potent alchemical ingredients.

D - Gormant: A desert dwelling amphibian that is always ready for a fight. Males grapple with each other, or anything they can find, to impress females. They use their tusks to dig in the sand to find tubers, their favorite food, but they’ll eat anything smaller than themselves.

E - Pure Elemental: A being of pure elemental energy, able to utilize all manner of magic. However due to its nature as a conduit for all elements it is no expert at any. They have a tendency to explode, crumble, dissolve, or melt if under too much stress.

F - Doosimo Bat: A large bat from a far off tropical region. They are quite aggressive but only over territory as they are actually frugivores. Despite their appearance they can actually see moderately well through the glowing “visor” on their head.

G - Bobblebulb Stalk: An ambulatory plant. They constantly hop everywhere in search of fresh soil, bashing their rock hard fruit against anything that comes in their way. The fruit makes a rattling sound with each hop. Some people find it delicious but most can’t handle the toughness.

H - Huk: A four limbed flier typically paired with the Silver Kharnek. They produce an ear piercing screech that can send shivers down even the toughest willed opponent. Usually they keep to themselves though, keeping an eye on everything from above.

I - [REDACTED; IMPROVED DESIGN IN NEXT POST]

J - Dream Sucker: A wobbly, baby blue colored entity. Most think they come from another realm. They feed on the dreams of sentient beings by tapping their noses against them while they sleep. This doesn’t seem to make the person forget the dream but everyone reports seeing the Dream Sucker in the dream it ate.

K - Kettlehead Moth Caterpillar: An armored caterpillar of the Kettlehead Moth. No one is quite sure why this caterpillar has evolved such defensive measures.The spines along its back cause irritation if touched.

K-2 - Kettlehead Moth: A moth the size of a small bird. Its armored head is quite sharp and can poke its way through even hard leather with enough force. They feed exclusively on the sap of the rustgum tree and are one of its few pollinators.

L - Liddersprout: A relative of the Mandrake. They do not have the piercing scream but can cause annoyance and anger with their wail. They pull themselves from the ground the moment they mature and crawl around energetically during the night.

[wanderingspiritwitch]

I THINK this cute little guy is an American Dagger Moth caterpillar. In any case, I'm not going to touch him in case it is, even though he's adorable.

[mmwm]

Last year, I wrote a post on some wasps and bees I’ve found in my garden over the nine years I’d lived here. This is the second installment of the Garden Insects series, on butterflies & moths and their larvae. Future posts will cover flies, dragonflies, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas, and other bugs — some “true” bugs and some not.  Possibly even worms and slugs, though they are not insects, or even in the same phylum as insects. Speaking of phylum …

_________________

SIDEBAR: The taxonomy of the insect world, briefly.

Insects are a CLASS in terms of taxonomy, within the PHYLUM called Arthropoda that’s part of the overarching KINGDOM Animalia, which contains about 2.2 million animal species, So yes, all insects are animals, though people often dispute this in casual conversation and social media.

Depending on how a phylum is determined (including whether only extant (non-extinct) animals are included or not), there are anywhere from 5 to 36 phyla in the animal kingdom; usually lists show 7 or 9 phyla, such as this one from a Yale University course that lists 9 phyla, the first 6 of which contain animals that live only in water or mud: Porifera (Sponges), Cnidaria (Jellyfish, Coral, Sea Anemones), Mollusca (Snails, Slugs, Octopus), Echinodermata (Starfish, Sand Dollar, Sea Cucumber, Sea Urchin), Annelida (Segment Worms, Leeches), Platyhelminthes (Flatworms), Nematoda (Nematodes, Roundworms, Earthworms), Chordata (everything with a backbone, so all Birds, Reptiles, Fishes, Amphibians and Mammals, including humans), and finally, Arthropoda (Insects, Spiders, Scorpions, Millipedes, Crustaceans).

This sortable list on Wikipedia, similar to a BBC Earth list, contains 35 phyla, but often many of these are considered a sub-phylum of a more encompassing phylum. Here’s a site that lists 21 phyla, while the Tree of Life project lists just 6: Porifera and Cnidaria, as above in the list of nine, but then none of the other seven, instead adding to and replacing them with Placozoa (extremely simple animals up to 3mm in size made up of only 4 cell types; only 2 species have ever been described), Ctenophora (comb-jellies), Myxoza (several-celled parasitic microscopic organisms) and the giant group of Bilateria, which includes all the vertebrates plus arthropods, molluscs, worms, and more!

Categorising life is complicated.

And don’t get me started on the top level of life Kingdoms (or Domains or Empires):

“In summary, today there are several competing top classifications of life:

The three-domain system of Carl Woese, with top-level groupings of Archaea, Eubacteria, and Eukaryota domains

The two-empire system, with top-level groupings of Prokaryota (or Monera) and Eukaryota empires

The five-kingdom system with top-level groupings of Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia

The six-kingdom system with top-level groupings of Archaebacteria, Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia

Overall, the majority of biologists accept the domain system, but a large minority uses the five-kingdom method.” (from New World Encyclopedia: Taxonomy)

So, leaving the weeds to recap for today’s posting on insects, insects comprise one CLASS (called Insecta) of the PHYLUM Arthropoda, which also contains, in other classes (not Insecta) such animals as arachnids (spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, et al.), crustaceans, millipedes and centipedes, horseshoe crabs, and so on.

Within the CLASS Insecta are about 30 ORDERS, including our focus today, Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), plus:

Hymenoptera: ants, bees, wasps, sawflies … it’s a big group Hemiptera: all true bugs, within three sub-orders: Heteroptera – bugs; Auchenorrhyncha – cicadas, leafhoppers; and Sternorrhyncha – aphids, scales. True bugs are insects that have two pairs of wings and hypodermic-needle-like mouthparts, and they all undergo incomplete metamorphosis, with their young hatching from eggs to become nymphs, which are miniature versions of the adult bug minus the wings. Diptera: flies — but not all insects with the word “fly” in their names; also mosquitoes Coleoptera: beetles Orthoptera: katydids, grasshoppers, crickets Odonata: dragonflies & damselflies, each in its own sub-order Trichoptera: caddisflies Ephemeroptera “lasting a day”: mayflies Mantodea “like a prophet”: mantises Phasmatodea “like a ghost”: walking sticks

… and a couple dozen more. (Check out Bugguide’s intro or the list here.)

_________________ END OF SIDEBAR

*

Now on to the butterflies and moths, and their larva, i.e., caterpillars. (All photos from my yard this year unless noted otherwise.)

What’s interesting to me is that I commonly see both the larval and adult forms of some butterfly species, such as monarch butterflies and caterpillars (Danaus plexippus), while I typically see only either the larval or the adult form of others, such as black swallowtail butterflies (Papilio polyxenes); I’ve seen a handful of black swallowtail caterpillars in my yard this year and no adults, though I’ve seen a few flying around town. Same thing with yellow swallowtail butterflies, either Eastern tiger, Papilio glaucus or Canadian tiger, Papilio canadensis — I’m never sure which; I see lots of adults and no caterpillars, which are darned cute.

(Male) monarch butterfly, 12 Aug 2019; monarch caterpillar, 25 July 2019:

I like this monarch-in-flight photo that the motion camera caught on 2 Aug. 2019.

I’ve had two chrysalises hatch successful adult monarch butterflies in the garden, and I’ve seen at least three dozen monarch caterpillars on the milkweed plants (Asclepias syriaca and A. incarnata) since mid-July, including one large one today, which is getting to be too late for pupating, hatching, and flying to Mexico.

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Black swallowtail butterfly, in the garden in Sept. 2015 ; black swallowtail caterpillar, 17 Sept 2019:

I’m still seeing black swallowtail caterpillars on dill in the garden now, too.

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These are both Eastern yellow tiger swallowtails, both photographed on 25 July 2019; the one on the left is a female (more blue), the one on the right a male.  I don’t have any photos of yellow tiger caterpillars, never having noticed one, but here’s one online — cute, right? Kind of like a spicebush caterpillar.

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Similarly with MOTHS: I’ve seen loads of tussock moth caterpillars this year — it’s been a banner year for them in the northeast — but no adult tussock moths (they are beige and somewhat nondescript):

spotted tussock moth caterpillar (Lophocampa maculata) foreground, and looks like a banded tussock moth caterpillar (Halysidota tessellaris) in the background – 11 Sept 2019

milkweed tussock moth caterpillar (Euchaetes egle), on milkweed – 25 Aug 2019

banded tussock moth caterpillar (Halysidota tessellaris) – 13 Aug 2019

hickory tussock moth caterpillar (Lophocampa caryae) – 11 Aug 2019

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I’m likewise seeing a fair number of woolybears, those fuzzy caterpillars of the banded woolybear moth aka Isabella tiger moth, Pyrrharctia isabella or of the yellow woolybear moth, aka Virginian tiger moth, Spilosoma virginica, but I’ve not noticed any actual moths of the species:

I think this is a Yellow Woolybear Moth caterpillar aka Virginian Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica), on the garden hose, 12 Aug 2019

And this is another Virginian Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica), seen not in my garden but at Laudholm Farm in Wells, Maine on 9 Sept. Quite different in appearance.

Here’s a banded woolybear moth caterpillar aka Isabella tiger caterpillar (Pyrrharctia isabella), taken nearby my home in New Hampshire last year, Oct. 2018; I’ve seen some this year but haven’t been able to get photos.

Obviously, I’m probably just not noticing or recognising the moths in their adult forms (they tend to blend), and I’m not out at night prowling around or leaving lights on to lure them, but the swallowtail situation is more perplexing to me, as they are fairly striking in both forms.

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A new one for me this year has been the American dagger moth caterpillar (Acronicta americana). I first saw it coiled in a round disk on the patio (27 July) and wasn’t sure it was even an animal.

But folks on Facebook insect pages assured me it was. I’ve since seen the same species in other spots in the yard. Here’s a bedraggled one on a peach, 3 Sept.:

Here’s another, all curled up in a small Japanese maple (‘Bloodgood’) tree a few days ago.

There’ve been other dagger moth caterpillars around as well, including these larvae of the splendid dagger moth (Acronicta superans), both seen on 19 Aug. 2019 but at least 15 yards from each other, the first on a purple leaf sand cherry (Prunus × cistena) and the second on the shed.

I saw this one on a sidewalk in town on 16 Aug. 2019; it’s a fingered dagger moth caterpillar.

fingered dagger moth (Acronicta dactylina) caterpillar, 16 Aug. 2019

And this one also in town, on 13 Sept. 2019, a yellow-haired dagger moth (Acronicta impleta) caterpillar:

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A couple more moth larva seen locally this summer:

rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) caterpillar, 22 Aug. 2019, on a local trail

a polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) caterpillar ready to pupate (this is why it’s orange and not green), 26 Aug 2019, on a local sidewalk and heading toward the road (I moved it)

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The clymene moth (Haploa clymene), a kind of tiger moth, is a very distinguishable species that I seem to see about once a summer on the lawn. This photo was taken on 30 July 2019. I’ve never noticed it in its larval form, which somewhat resembles a webworm.

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This ipsilon dart moth was a new one for me, and I might not have noticed it on the ground if it hadn’t moved a bit. I posted it two two Facebook insect ID groups and I’m amazed that with the sunlight glaring on this specimen, two people in two separate groups actually recognised it!

Agrotis ipsilon (Ipsilon dart) moth, 8 Sept 2019

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Another new one for me is this tiny boldly marked Archips moth (Archips dissitana), seen on Clintonia borealis (blue-bead lily) alongside a local trail, 28 July 2019; sorry it’s a bit blurry:

boldy marked Archips moth (Archips dissitana) on Clintonia bead, Sutton, NH, 28 July 2019

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This giant luna moth (Actias luna) was a new and serendipitous sighting for me as well!

luna moth (Actias luna) on a local bakery storefront, 30 June 2019

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Two moths that look more like tiny hummingbirds are the clearwing moths: the hummingbird clearwing (Hemaris thysbe) that’s olive and reddish-brown, and the snowberry clearwing (Hemaris diffinis), which is black and yellow. We’ve had many of both here all summer.

This is the hummingbird clearwing (Hemaris thysbe), on bee balm (monarda) and buddleia ‘Ellen’s Blue’:

And this is the snowberry clearwing (Hemaris diffinis), on buddleia ‘Ellen’s Blue’:

I love the curled proboscis in the second photo.

*

BACK TO BUTTERFLIES

Besides the monarch and yellow swallowtails, above, another butterfly showing up here in droves this season is the painted lady (Vanessa cardui). I can’t decide if it’s more beautiful from the side or with wings open. (Shown here, on 10&11 Sept.) on buddleia, sedum, and Joe Pye weed.) There are still a lot of them around even now.

I guess I like the side the best!

Oddly, a naturalist writer near Keene, NH, about 50 miles southwest, said last week that he hasn’t seen any painted ladies this summer!

We’ve also had a fair number of American lady butterflies (Vanessa virginiensis) this season. They have only two big circles on the side of the wing, and the markings on their hindwings are quite different, too. (Shown here, from  24 July – 24 Aug,, on clethra ‘Ruby Spice’ and echinacea)

And look, I actually managed to find the larval form of the American lady!

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I haven’t seen many white admiral butterflies (Limenitis arthemis) in the garden this year, but was able to photograph the tattered varmint on buddleia on one of the few days when I did (11 Sept. 2019). It’s a strange species, having two very different forms that used to (understandably) be considered two separate species; one is a red-spotted purple form, and the other is the “white” version, which is really black, white, blue, and reddish.

Last year I spotted one on a rotting peach (4 Sept 2018).

And here’s the red-spotted purple version on buddleia in the garden, seven years ago, on 1 Aug. 2012

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Early in the season we had some small fritillaries, which are so common in the south (Jekyll island, GA, for instance – especially gulf fritillaries) but not as much up here. This one was seen on 24 July 2019. I think it’s a great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele). We also have an aphrodite fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite) here, somewhat smaller but otherwise I can’t tell them apart.

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These are all skippers, a small butterfly; I don’t know their species (there are almost 40 species of skippers in New Hampshire). There were a bunch around the yard in July.

27 July 2019

11 Aug. 2019 on echinacea … maybe Peck’s skipper (Polites peckius)

27 July 2019 on self-heal in the lawn

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I saw a few duskywing butterflies (genus Erynnis, a kind of skipper) in July and August,  including this one (I think):

duskywing butterfly (Erynnis spp) on echinacea, 3 Aug. 2019

There are 12 or so species of duskywing, sootywing, and cloudywing butterflies in New Hampshire and they all look kind of alike.

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Here are a few more butterflies I’ve seen this year in places that aren’t my garden.

This one wasn’t even in New Hampshire, but I rarely see an Eastern comma (Polygona comma) butterfly:

Eastern comma butterfly (Polygonia comma), Laudholm Farms in Wells, Maine, 9 Sept. 2019

A couple of sightings of the common buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia).

New London, NH, 26 Aug. 2019

Great Bay NWR, Newington, NH, 23 Aug. 2019

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A northern spring azure (Celastrina lucia) — I see many azures  (both spring and summer species) but they are very small and very fast, hard to capture on film.

northern spring azure butterfly (Celastrina lucia), 25 May 2019

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A crescent butterfly, probably a northern crescent (Phyciodes cocyta), but possibly a pearl crescent (Phyciodes tharos).

crescent butterfly, Enfield, NH, 19 June 2019. There are three kinds in NH — tawny, northern, and pearl; I think this is the northern crescent (Phyciodes cocyta).

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A clouded sulphur (Colias philodice) butterfly, at The Fells Estate in Newbury, NH, 22 Sept. 2019, on pink asters:

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This eyed brown (Satyrodes eurydice) butterfly was a new one for me. The common names — eyed brown and marsh eyed brown — just sounds incomplete to me. There’s also a Satyrodes appalachia, Appalachian brown or woods eyed brown, which is very similar (they were previously thought to be the same species), and it’s possible that’s what this is, but people who know more than I do about these things identified it as S. eurydice.

Satyrodes eurydice (Eyed Brown/Marsh Eyed Brown butterfly), Sutton, NH, 5 July 2019

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Finally, these butterflies are fairly common here but I haven’t taken any photos of them (or even noticed a copper) yet this year, so I’m including garden photos from previous years.

cabbage white (Pieris rapae) butterfly on ‘Bluebird’ Aster laevis, 27 Sept. 2018.

American copper (Lycaena phlaeas) butterfly on geranium, 18 Sept. 2015

I’ve never seen a mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) in my garden but I see them along some trails in early spring; their our earliest butterflies. I actually saw one this spring but couldn’t get a good shot of it, so here’s a mourning cloak along a trail in Concord, NH, 23 April 2016.

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Sources:

The Animal Kingdom, by Joe Lewis, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute Ask a Biologist: True Bugs, by Adam Dolezal and Page Baluch Phylogenic List of Insect Orders Hummingird Moth (Mass Audubon) Side-by-Side American Lady and Painted Lady butterflies (Mass. Butterfly Club) Wildlife Journal Junior – NH PBS – list of insects (mostly butterflies) in NH

Featured image: monarch butterfly drying wings after eclosing, 11 Sept. 2019.

Garden Insects: Butterflies, Moths, and Caterpillars (Lepidoptera) Last year, I wrote a post on some wasps and bees I've found in my garden over the nine years I'd lived here.