October already! The leaves on my maple are a patchwork of yellow, green, and orange. The fallen ones, on the ground, are brown and yellow. A couple of squirrels are spending their days in the top branches, stuffing themselves with maple seeds; the pathway underneath is sprinkled with maimed maple "airplanes".
Down in my primroses, the slugs and snails are partying. And I found a half-dozen caterpillars, green and brown, fattening up on the leaves. I've got a few in a jar to watch them pupate, maybe even see what they turn into.
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| Fat brown caterpillar, sleeping |
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| This one's much smaller. |
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| Yellow and green, fat and still hungry. |
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| Three fallen maple leaves. |
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| Detail of rotting leaf |
And the nasturtiums are still flowering bravely, even though they never see the sun any more.
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| Nasturtium and rhododendron leaf. |
I found a couple of interesting spiders, and a pair of mating slugs. Photos will be forthcoming as soon as they're processed.
ooo, looking forward to mating slugs! Haven't seen them in years.
ReplyDeleteYour top caterpillar reminds me of the yellow-striped armyworm, but not sure if you have them out by you.
I love these photos!
ReplyDeleteAfter a lot of difficulty to get my kale and chard to grow over the summer, it has finally taken off. Must be my slugs have started to slow down and the mice have left the garden float. At least they will be nice for winter salads. - Margy
ReplyDeleteSara, yes the armyworm caterpillar looks very similar, but as far as I know, we don't have them here east of the Rockies. And I don't remember ever seeing the adult moths.
ReplyDeleteIt could be a related species.