A Very Lucky Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar

image of an eastern or canadian tiger swallowtail larva, in ontario, canada

How do you like my new little buddy? It is the cutest little caterpillar, an Eastern or a Canadian Tiger Swallowtail larva likely in its third or 4th instar, soon to cocoon and morph into a beautiful butterfly.
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Cecropia Moth Caterpillar in Rouge National Urban Park

cecropia moth caterpillar, rouge national urban park, markham, ontario

On a late July afternoon, on his way to a local farmer’s market, Bob made a brief stop at North Reesor Pond in    Rouge National Urban Park  .     His intention was to look for shorebirds, but with none presenting, he began to scour the reeds and bushes for insects.  That is when he happened upon this most unusual caterpillar, a Cecropia Moth Larva. Read more

Modest Sphinx Moth Caterpillar at Oxtongue Lake

Modest Sphinx Moth Caterpillar on the ground at Oxtongue Lake, Ontario, Canada

How would you like to come face to face with this fierce-looking caterpillar if you were about knee high to a grasshopper?  It was about 4 inches long (10 cm), around 1/2 inch in diameter (1 cm), and surprisingly quick at navigating through the tangle of grass.  This is the larva of a Modest Sphinx Moth (Pachysphinx modesta) that we saw in the community of Oxtongue Lake, Ontario, near the end of August. Read more

Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis At Tommy Thompson Park

monarch butterfly chrysalis at tommy thompson park - ontario 7

One summer, Bob and I made for Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  We were certain, given the large number of Monarch Butterfly larvae that we had seen before, that we would be able to find a chrysalis on one of the many Milkweed plants.  Our memory served us well as to the locations of a good share of the well-advanced larvae, but it took us two days to actually locate a Monarch’s chrysalis amid the fields of stately Milkweed plants.  Our persistence had paid off! Read more