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Borrego Springs, CA

Friday, July 29, 2011

It’s getting to be that time of the year

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In mid to late summer up north, the wild berries begin ripening.  They’re so luscious and juicy, but with all the robins and other birds around here I don’t think I’m going to be able to enjoy much of their sweetness.

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The milkweed plants are also getting large enough to think about blooming, and do you know what that means?   Soon it will be monarch butterfly season!  I’ve been on the prowl looking for caterpillars.  I haven’t seen any monarchs around, only swallowtails, but lo and behold…

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…the other day I discovered a monarch caterpillar on a milkweed plant next to my rig.  They have voracious appetites for the leaves of this plant.  The adult monarch lays its eggs on this favored host plant.  I was hoping this caterpillar would stay put on the plant and go into the chrysalis stage so I could observe it.  Alas, it moved on.

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But then today, I found a smaller one on the same plant.  It is less than a half inch long.

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An even smaller one, about 1 cm long, was on the underside of a leaf of a plant on the other side of my site.  You can even see the milky sap that this plant gets its name from along the edges of the portions that have been eaten.  If I had an old aquarium, I’d put these caterpillars inside of it with some leaves so I could watch the whole process.  It’s been years since I’ve done that.

IMG_2717While peeking into the secret lives of milkweeds, I walked past this spent bloom.  It was brilliant yellow not too long ago.  Nature’s timetable of growing old is accelerated for wildflowers.  I could sympathize with being beyond the beautiful blooming part of life.  But, there is almost always another springtime.  Smile

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But wait, there is still usefulness in old age…

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If nothing else, a perch for youth to take flight from!  Oh my, I’m waxing a little philosophical tonight.  Guess I’d better finish up.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

19 comments:

  1. Another great example of why photography is such a joy to many of us. Without our love for the hobby we would miss a lot of things. But, when out & about with a camera....a whole new & excting world opens up for us. Good stuff:))

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  2. I loved this... GREAT photos!!!
    Have fun & Travel safe
    Donna

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  3. I was a parents' nightmare when I was a kid. I once hid an aquarium behind the TV with what I thought were protozoa. We went crazy with mosquitoes that year, and my Mom and Dad couldn't figure out what was going on. Memory fails at just how I was found out.

    I also used the same aquarium and put two tiny branches with cacoons inside it--did you know that baby praying mantis' look exactly like their Moms and Dads when they hatch? Oh what fun. Didn't get in as much trouble as with the mosquitoes, but I never knew what happened to the aquarium after that!

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  4. Isn't it fun watching the cycle of life? I'm always fascinated.

    Once my niece found a cocoon and put it in her dresser drawer without anyone's knowledge. Sometime later, my SIL opened the drawer to put away clothes and was shocked (she hated bugs of any kind!) to find 50 or so little praying mantis' marching around the drawer! Fortunately, my niece was allowed to finish growing up!!

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  5. I love your philosophical thoughts - there are so many good things about each stage of life. We just have to recognize and appreciate the stage we're in. Or is it the "state" we're in. Oh, well.

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  6. Oh no! You're starting to fill up the HD with all kinds of bugs!!

    Just kidding - great photos as usual!

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  7. Great post and lessons on life. Always enjoy your photos.

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  8. Pretty prosaic, philosophical photographer - profound!

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  9. Great pictures. will look forward to the butterfly pictures.

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  10. Wild berries are always the best, but I remember one year my kids found a big berry patch that was infested with poison ivy. What a bad week at our house after that!

    Be careful where you walk.

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  11. Once again, the most gorgeous pictures. That caterpillar is so beautiful.

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  12. mother nature at her 'finest'!..great shots of the caterpillar!..good luck with your cocoon hunt!!

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  13. Great Caterpillar pictures, their yellow just like the diesel caterpillars.Say hi to Emma from Rigg's . Just entered a photo of him & Sadie in a pet contest for one of the radio stations in St Louis you can win a one year supply of dog food. Now that would be a great thing at a hundred lbs he eats a big soda cup 20oz. of food everyday. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna...

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  14. Wow! Thanks for sharing some terrific photography. Great stuff!

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  15. I like that you look for the little joys in nature, so often overlooked by most folks. I was just looking on milkweeds yesterday for caterpillars and found several Queens. We don't get too many Monarchs here, but lots of Queens.

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  16. Monarchs and Queens. Are there any Kings in butterfly land? What fun to find and recognize these creatures. Thanks for sharing your great photos with us slugabeds!

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  17. Great photo's, well, except for the grasshopper. I'm not particularly fond of "crunchy" bugs! The Monarch's fall progression south goes through where our stick n' bricks is and we've seen trees and bushes just covered with them and the sky a flutter with them.

    Just a thought, but would a jar work instead of an aquarium?

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