Yea, but can you do THIS?

I'm the kind of gardener who gets excited in a good way when I notice holes in the leaves of my plants, and even more when I spot the telltale frass (poop) pellets on a leaf.  So, late yesterday when I found both on my honeysuckle (the one I bought this year) I went on a search to find the source of the chews and frass.  I probably looked at the two caterpillars 10 times before I even realized they were there.  And when I went back out today, I had a dreadful time finding them again, even though they really hadn't moved.  

So, why all the excitement?  Well, these happen to the caterpillars of the Snowberry Clearwing Moth, as blipped here!  Because of the time of year, most likely these will overwinter as cocoons, buried in leaf litter or mulch, to emerge next spring as beautiful clearwing moths ... in my garden!  Yep, I'm pretty excited.

And in cast you are wondering what the heck is going on here - well, I jostled the little cat (about an inch long) when I was twisting the leaf to get a better shot and he curled up.  The black pointy thing is on his pooping end, in case you are wondering.  I'm contemplating bringing the stem they are on into one of my butterfly enclosures to make sure nothing gets them.  I have plenty of honeysuckle so no problem providing food while they grow.  There is a nice photo of him in a normal position HERE on FLickr, taken yesterday.

And speaking of caterpillars... I had THIRTEEN monarchs emerge today, which was about 9 more than I expected.  I just released the last 5, and three of them went for my bestie Lynn and her parents.  Her Dad died while Lynn was still fighting cancer; but her mom outlived her, which isn't the way things should work.  I always release a monarch for Lynn every year, sometimes two.  She's been gone 8 years, but we all still miss her. so much.  All the other butterflies flew for loved ones, some for my family and others for friends' family members.  And there is still a lot of room on my list for dedications. 


Definitely feeling better today, almost back to normal.  Hubs is upstairs at the moment working on my new space.  I'd be helping but it really is kind of a one-person job cutting and laying the flooring.  He's working on the closet now so almost done.  Very soon, I'll be able to move my desk  and camera gear up there - yay!

Time to run down the road to the farm and pick up some veggies to go with dinner tonight.  

xo
Debbi