c

cecropia moths, millipedes and other wonders

by margaret
Tweet
Pin107
Share1
108 Shares

moth of all moths
TIME FOR A LITTLE NON-PLANT MOMENT, captured in a quick jumble of other-than-botanical snapshots from around the garden lately. There are moths and millipedes of size XL proportion; baby birds everywhere–the stuff you get to see if, and only if, you keep your eyes, and ears, open and don’t move too fast on to that next garden chore.

Click on the first thumbnail to start the show, then toggle from slide to slide using the arrows on your keyboard or the ones beside each caption.

cecropia moth
I’m noticing big things everywhere I look this growing season, including the moth of all moths, Hyalophora cecropia. Its wingspan was more than 5 inches. No surprise that it likes my place, I suppose, since the foliage of apples, cherries, sugar maples, oaks, elderberries and (yum!) lilacs are on the menu, and among its dietary favorites.
narceus-americanus
We’re growing size XL millipedes here, too, and in great profusion. Narceus americanus, sometimes called the worm millipede, does a similar job as its common namesake, digesting leaf litter and such debris…meaning they are detritovores (eating detritus). Just think of him as nature’s composter. They get to around 6 inches long, and are arthropods — they have a hard exoskeleton, segmented body and many pairs of legs, like a scorpion or a lobster.
chipmunk-nemesis
Now this more familiar guy eats everything: blueberries and other fruit, peas right from their pods, corn, every manner of seeds (both those you planted and those in the birdfeeder). And when they’re not eating, they’re tunneling: under my tomatoes, garlic, onions, everywhere. I have a bumper crop of extra-frisky Tamias striatus this year, if not many peas and blueberries. Did you know that when they dig tunnels they fill their pouches with the excavated soil, and move it, to help conceal their mischief. And I thought the pouches were just for extra helpings of dinner.
buddhist-bluejay
Various birds are happy to help out with the devouring of succulent crops here, too, including this very Buddhist bluejay. When he’s not meditating, he’s shouting a lot — and not eating other birds’ eggs, as Cyanocitta cristata is commonly accused of. A large-scale study found just 1 percent of bluejays had the remains of bird eggs in their stomachs.
baby-bird
I have never seen so many nests as this season, and often placed in far-too-easy-to-find spots, making me wonder how any young survive.
baby-robins
There are robins hatching everywhere; a second round at the moment. Robins, Turdus migratorius, can produce up to three sets of young a season, a necessity since the odds for survival are so poor: On average, says Cornell Lab of Ornithology, only 40 percent of robin nests successfully produce young and just 25 percent of those fledged young survive to November.
potted-frog
No discussion of the creatures here would be complete without a you-know-what. This male green frog, Rana clamitans, insists that he’s an annual, preferring to spend most of his days in a flowerpot at poolside (when he isn’t in the water fighting for the dominant role against other would-be frog kings).

Useful Related Links:

Categoriesbird sh-t frogboys insects & worms slideshows
  1. Bob Scherer says:

    Thanks for sharing. Love that moth! The millipede not so much. And of course you have to have a frog!

    Reply
  3. Coastal Jan says:

    In my neck of the woods (northwest coast of Canada) starlings are increasingly displacing robins making it even more difficult for the lovely harbingers of spring/summer to survive.

    The photos of the nests and newborns touched my heart, and I want to say “Thrive, little one, thrive!”

    Jan

    Reply
  4. Lucy Corrander says:

    Fantastic post. Really enjoyed the little show. Impressed by the moth. Impressed by the millipede too but think I might be disconcerted if I came across many. Perphaps I’d get used to them though?

    Lucy

    Reply
  5. Marty says:

    When I’m in the garden I think of you with all your creatures. We came across a rattle snake last week. I must say the critters of the lizard, frog and snake kind unnerve me and take some of the peace of gardening. I must say that the moth is, to me, an amazing evidence of the divine.

    Reply
  7. Lynda Chernek says:

    Loved your slide show. Always partial to frogs. I have bottle brid houses around me house which are always nested by Sparrows. They even chase the Blue Birds away. They are now on their 3rd clutch ! Recently added Wren houses & always their noisy antics. I shall watch for the Cecropia Moth . . . beautiful !

    Reply
  8. eileen says:

    I had a beautiful swallowtail on an allium yesterday. the yellow against the purple was really striking but no camera so I had to just take it in. It doesn’t seem like we have as many butterflies and moths as when I was a kid…of course, I’m about 2000 miles from where I grew up but there aren’t that many around here. I am shameless in my courting of hummingbirds & bees and have lots in my yard. I would think that the butterflies & moths would like more of the same but I will have to research that and see what I can do to help them out

    Reply
  9. Dee says:

    I didn’t realize that robins reused their nests, but apparently they do. We had a family with three fledglings in the fig tree by the kitchen window in early spring, and now mom and pop are back, apparently caring for more eggs. Smart choice, the fig tree — easy source of food.

    Reply
  10. Ronnie Gunn Tucker says:

    Enjoyed this post very much. Thanks, Margaret. What I’m noticing in Georgia seems to be a resurgence of lightning bugs. An evening delight to see them blinking quietly in the garden and adjoining woods.

    Reply
  12. Pam G says:

    Love your nature slideshow! How come other birds seem to be afraid of the jays? Also, I was checking out your hydrandeas and wonder if you have a tip for why one of my many many H. plants is always beautifully green but never blooms-the one right next to it does.

    Reply
    1. Margaret says:

      Welcome, Pam. They are pretty raucous birds, loud and social, and are much bigger than many of our other common feeder birds/songbirds, so I suppose they are something to be reckoned with for those reasons. They do eat the occasional egg but apparently are not the terrible plunderers we thought after all.

      As for the Hydrangea, that’s curious. What prevents hydrangeas or other flowering things from blooming is usually too much shade, too much Nitrogen fertilizer (makes leaves at the expense of blooms) or improper pruning. What is different about the way this one is being handled — if anything?

      Reply
  13. Susan says:

    I always love the slide shows; the baby robins look SO frail!
    I wonder if you are having more problems with earwigs, and what you are doing
    to discourage them??
    thanks

    Reply
  14. Karen Leslie says:

    dear Margaret, So magical to see your moth, as I had a first visit on July 21st, 2009 on the glass front door of my cottage in Elizaville, NY. It was a Cecropia also, later found out also known as a Robin Moth. The name has such personal resonance for me and my family. And, too, last spring, for the first time since living in the Hudson Valley, I captured photos of a ‘Robin’s’ nest…3 baby blue eggs, and a very obliging mother. It made my year. Want you to know, finding your book, at the perfect moment in my life, when I so longed to read word’s expressed exactly like yours, helped me down the path of my own creative destiny. And so many of the beauties in nature that I have been blessed enough to discover these last few years, gave me that blissful jolt of visceral connection with my senses, it all adds to my song of life…Hurray! I really do think you are one of the ‘sparkly’ people, and your garden looks to be like paradise. best, Karen Leslie

    Reply
    1. Margaret says:

      Welcome, Karen. I am so touched by your kind comment, and the fact that we are both, not so far away, seeing the same magical things this spring and summer. Nice — or as you say, hurray!

      Reply
  15. Smallpeace says:

    I love moths…and lightening bugs…and lady birds…and praying mantis. When I was a little girl, I’d capture the poor creatures in a jam jar and set them on my nightstand to watch them as I fell asleep. Then, in the morning, I’d release them back into the wild. Flying flowers I used to call them.

    Reply
  16. Linda B Horn says:

    Watching 15 Swallowtail Butterfly larvae feed on my fennel. Slowly they are disappearing and looked under the fennel to discover Mr. Green Frog waiting for them to be in reaching distance. Moved Mr. Frog and he was back in two days. Only 2 caterpillars left. Dog eat dog food world. L

    Reply
  17. Dahlink says:

    I’m with Tammy on preferring the name “Robin” to that Latin insult! No wonder they can be bad-tempered. It’s the catbirds that get us, though–one carries on ad nauseam when our two rescue cats are outside. “Cat! CAT!! Caaaaat!!!”

    We have a bounty of green frogs in our small pond this year. I’m now seeing them setting out for other ponds, I think. I’ve seen three mid-sized frogs far away from the pond. Every frog wants to be king, I guess. I also think we may have a bullfrog lurking–so far I’ve only seen the top of its head, but it looks much bigger than any other frog in residence. As soon as it spots me, it disappears under water.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.