Category Archives: Insects – Butterflies & Moths

Viceroy

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This insect is commonly known as “Viceroy” because it is similar, but smaller than the two other butterflies it resembles — the Queen and the Monarch. However, it is only distantly related to these species.

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The Viceroy belongs to a group called the “Brush-footed Butterflies,” which have four functional legs and two very small front legs which are not used for standing on. These legs are more for “tasting” than walking.

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This butterfly occurs in moist open or shrubby areas such as lakes, swamp edges, willow thickets, valley bottoms, wet meadows and agricultural and rural areas.

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Last month I found this Viceroy caterpillar. In all life stages of life, the Viceroy mimics something. The eggs resemble parasitic insect galls that affect plants. The caterpillars and chrysalis’ resemble bird droppings. And the adult resembles the poisonous Monarch Butterfly.

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I set the caterpillar up in a small terrarium and fed it willow leaves.

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One day at about 10:00AM, I noticed the caterpillar hanging upside down, preparing to transform into its next stage in life.

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By 3:00PM on the same day the caterpillar had formed its chrysalis. It stayed that way for a week before emerging as an adult butterfly.

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Here is the Viceroy about to be released.

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Ever wonder what it’s like to fly for the first time?

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Mourning Cloak

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This butterfly is named for its somber coloration. Mourning Cloaks have wings that are dark brown with pale, cream-colored edges, which often look ragged. Underneath, the Mourning Cloak’s wings are blackish-brown. It is camouflaged when it rests on a tree trunk with its wings folded.

This large insect has a 3-1/2 wingspan and breaks several “rules” about butterflies. It is often found in flowerless woodlands and can sometimes be seen flying around in the Winter. I have run into a few of these creatures in the past few weeks; they have a well-deserved reputation of being difficult to approach and photograph.

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Adult Mourning Cloaks drink from some nectar-producing plants, rotting fruit, tree sap and mud puddles. On cold but sunny days, they rest on tree trunks and turn their dark wings toward the sun to absorb heat. When approached, they make a loud click before flying away from a resting spot.

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Mourning Cloaks are one of the few butterflies that overwinter. Instead of dying or flying south, they stay here year-round. They find a tree cavity or crawl underneath loose bark. By hibernating, Mourning Cloaks get a head start over other butterflies in the Spring.

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The Mourning Cloak is a widespread species with a worldwide distribution in the northern hemisphere from the subtropics to the Arctic Circle. This is one of my favorite butterflies because of it’s unconvential, yet successful lifestyle and seeing one on a sunny Winter day in the woods makes for a great hike.

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Evergreen Bagworm

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The Evergreen Bagworm is an interesting caterpillar. It has the peculiar habit of living inside a “bag” constructed of bits of the plant material it feeds on, and dragging it around as it eats. When disturbed, the bagworm pulls itself back into the bag.

The bags are carefully interwoven using silk produced by the caterpillar and bits of leaves and twigs from the host plant resulting in a well-disguised covering. On pine trees, its cone-shaped bags are often mistaken for pine cones, which help them to go undetected. At this time of year, eggs are over-wintering inside this bag made by their mother last year. Here’s one that I saw earlier in the week in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

The bee-like adult males have clear wings and fur covered bodies. But females do not look like moths (they have no wings, legs, antennae, eyes, or mouthparts) and remain in their silken bags throughout their entire lives.

Nature has an array of clever camouflage, and the Evergreen Bagworm is a great example of a creature that goes about its life largely unnoticed.

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Woolly Bear

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Now is a good time in the year to find a common and well-known caterpillar. The Woolly Bear is black at both ends and reddish-brown in the middle.

There are two generations of caterpillars each year (May and August). The second generation is the one noticed in late Fall when Woolly Bears are often seen crossing roads, usually in great haste, as if they have someplace special to go.

They are scurrying to find a sheltered location under plant debris, where they will spend the winter as a larva. In the Spring they will feed briefly before changing into a cocoon and eventually a moth. I found one on my deck in one Autumn and put it in a jar in my garage. In early Spring it had formed a cocoon.

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The adult is known as the Isabella moth. Eggs laid by the female moths start the cycle over again. The adult moth has cream colored wings with scattered black spots – its wingspan is about 2 inches. This moth emerged from the cocoon above a few weeks later.

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The Woolly Bear is the species mentioned in winter-prediction folklore that claims the longer the black at the ends of the body, the more severe will be the coming Winter. This one seems to be predicting a very mild Winter.

Each year Vermilion, Ohio holds an annual “Woolly Bear Festival” – claimed to be the largest one-day festival in the state. Festivities include a parade, Woolly Bear races and an “official” analysis of the woolly bears and forecast for the coming Winter. Other states have “Woolly Worm” festivals for similar caterpillars.

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Luna Moth

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I took a trail in the evening on a path that I had never been on before. After going a couple of miles through the woods, the path ended on a busy road. I walked up the road to get back to my starting point. As I hiked, I noticed this alongside the four lane street – a Luna Moth.

Luna Moths are arguably the most beautiful moths of North America. The Luna Moth is also one of the most recognized moths; it is used commercially by the company Lunesta in television commercials. This insect was also featured on a first-class postage stamp in 1987.

Luna Moths are known for their beautiful, pale green wings and their “tails.” Every luna moth also has four eyespots, which are used to scare off predators. They belong to the family Saturniidae, which are the Giant Silkworm Moths.

Males and females are similar in appearance, but the antennae of the males appear more feathery. This nocturnal insect is found in hardwood forests in North America. I decided to move this one further away from the road and into the woods to keep it safe from traffic.

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Black Swallowtail

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A couple of weeks ago I was out walking and I came upon this green butterfly chrysalis. It looked like it was from a swallowtail, but I’d never seen a green swallowtail chrysalis, just brown ones. So I e-mailed a photo of it to by 10 year old nephew Max. He said that it was from a Black Swallowtail. Max indicated that they could have either a green or a brown chrysalis (who knew?).

I set the thing up in one of these plastic-type aquariums and put it in the kitchen to keep an eye on it. A swallowtail will overwinter in its chrysalis, and emerge as an adult butterfly the following Spring or Summer.

This morning I saw this. This butterfly is a mimic, meaning its pattern copies another animal. Its cousin, the Pipevine Swallowtail is poisonous to many predators. By copying the Pipevine Swallowtail, the Black Swallowtail gains protection from predators, even though it is not poisonous.

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Like most butterflies, the Black Swallowtail is a good pollinator. As it visits plants, looking for nectar, it spreads pollen from flower to flower so the plants can grow.

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Humans have greatly helped the Black Swallowtail. They brought non-native carrot species from Europe to North America. The Black Swallowtail uses non-native carrot species as food for its caterpillars (another food source is Queen Anne’s Lace).

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Red Admiral

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A recent article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer states “Red admirals are taking over Northeast Ohio.” This butterfly is identified by its striking dark brown, orange, and black wing pattern. More specifically, the dark wings possess orange bands that cross the forewings and on the outer edge of the hind wings.

An unusually high number of the insects are apparent this Spring – I’ve seen several in my backyard – especially on my shed and in the rock garden. Nobody knows for sure why every once in a while this butterfly’s population spikes. It could be climate change, a mild winter, or migrations from southern states to the northeast.

The Red Admiral has a very erratic, rapid flight. The males are territorial and many times can be found in the same location day to day. Adult butterflies prefer sap flowing from trees or fermenting fruit over nectar from flowers. Their caterpillars feed mainly on nettle. Here’s one I spotted on a tree in Zanesville, Ohio.

The undersides of the wings are a mottled brown and tan. They blend in very well forest the forest floor. This one resides at Brecksville Reservation.

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Question Mark Butterfly

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A few of these orange and brown butterflies were seen fluttering about today. The Question Mark Butterfly gets its name from a little silver marking on its wings which you can see when it has its wings folded in its resting position.

The color of the top of the hindwing changes depending on the time of year. In the summer, it is mostly black with a short tail, the winter form has a lot of orange and a longer, violet-tipped tail. The underside is light brown; hiding in cracks and crevices of wood, they remain inactive through the cold months. Their colors help keep them hidden and safe.

The Question Mark is found primarily in wooded areas that have open spaces, such as city parks and fence rows. Adult males will sit during the afternoon hours on tree trunks waiting for females. They’ll leave their perches to chase away other insects and even birds. Some adults stay in the northern United States to hibernate, while others migrate south. Butterflies that hibernate are among the longest lived butterflies in Ohio.

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Cecropia Cocoon

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Cleveland sure has crazy weather. Yesterday it was 70 degrees. I was getting a serious case of “spring fever.” And today it was 40. And rainy. And overcast. I went out for a walk in the woods anyhow. Here’s what the trees looked like:

But then I came across this, a Cecropia cocoon. The Cecropia is North America’s largest moth with a wingspan approaching six inches. It is my favorite moth (though it is tied with the Luna Moth in that regard). The cocoon consists of three distinct layers – the first is a hard shell, the second is an air space filled with wisps of silk, and the inner layer is rough silk. It is thought that the air space creates insulation.

Cecropia moth cocoons are often over 3 inches long and this one is in that size category. I’ll keep this cocoon and post photos once the moth emerges (which probably won’t be until 3 or 4 months). If you like big moths, check out “A Polyphemus Moth Story.”

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