365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Friday, July 19, 2019
Police Car Moth, Gnophaela Vermiculata
Day 279: You could be forgiven for thinking this might be a blue tent caterpillar, but in fact it's the larval stage of the Police Car Moth, Gnophaela vermiculata. I was saved the trouble of looking it up by a convenient post from MeadoWatch which was published the same day I took the picture, leading me to assume that we'll have a good population of striking black-and-white moths at some point in the future. You are most likely to find Police Cars parked on Mertensiana and Solidago (Bluebells and Goldenrod), although this one was observed lurking behind a section of Jersey barrier. As I watched, it must have received a call because it set out in pursuit, disappearing from sight at high speed (for a caterpiller) down the Paradise Valley Road.
Labels:
caterpillar,
Gnophaela vermiculata,
MORA,
Police Car Moth,
Valley Road
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