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There Must Have Been a Hibernaculum in the Cherry Tree....

Posted by misssherry Z8/9MS (My Page) on
Sat, Mar 17, 12 at 14:55

....right in front of my porch, because I practically ran into this late instar red-spotted purple caterpillar today -
Image hosted by Photobucket.com
I put this one in a cage on my porch to make sure a wasp didn't get it. I've seen them patrolling lately, and I've also seen them kill late instar RSP/Viceroy cats. And it's easy to keep black cherry branches fresh in water.
I've decided not to bring the American lady cats in to raise myself, because they're on cudweed, which is hard to keep fresh. And I'd have to cut cudweed which I suspect has eggs or very early instar cats on it now that I can't see.
Here's a picture I took last fall of a cat going into a hibernaculum in another, nearby cherry tree. I haven't found a caterpillar in that tree, as least not yet.
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Sherry


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: There Must Have Been a Hibernaculum in the Cherry Tree....

That is so cool, Misssherry! My BC is about to be fully leafed out, too. I don't get RSPs, but I do get Tigers.

Black Cherry and Willow are both moisture loving trees, but I wonder why Willow doesn't hold up as well in water. Hmmmm.

Susan


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RE: There Must Have Been a Hibernaculum in the Cherry Tree....

Neat pictures, Sherry! That's one kind of butterfly cat that I've never raised. I have willow trees, but they're not very big, about 8 feet. My cherry trees are even smaller, but I never go into the woods where we planted them. That kind of tree gets huge, and I didn't want to put it in our yard, but now if they get cats, I'll never know it. You're so lucky to be able to see the RSP cats. We get the butterflies here, although I don't see them very often.
Cathy


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RE: There Must Have Been a Hibernaculum in the Cherry Tree....

Oh, I love those lumpy guys! Thank you for the picture! Miss seeing them--they're amazing how they can survive winter.


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