The Munson-McGee Family Blog

The stories of our times

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Green, crawling things, and lot's of 'em

Talavera has been invaded by caterpillars. The ones that don't get smushed will become white-lined sphinx moths. They are everywhere!

They pop under the tires of my bike (gross) -- it is impossible to avoid them but entertaining on the long ride up the hill to try.

From an article in the Sun News: Dr. Carol Sutherland, New Mexico State University Extension Entomologist, said the following.

This is currently a hot topic in southern New Mexico. She explained, "When monsoon started this year, the rains just kept coming at the right intervals. Seed in the soil bank sprouted, providing food for the caterpillars and the little worms had a real buffet. They probably succeeded better than any natural enemies and now, about five to six weeks after hatching, they are ready to move on. The hordes are mature caterpillars leaving their pasture, looking for whatever is right to stimulate pupation. Sometimes the hordes can get so dense that they cross roadways, making them slick as cars squash them."

She identified the caterpillars in this case as "the mature and nearly mature larvae of the white-lined sphinx moth, Hyles lineata."

The larvae have been feeding on native evening primrose plants and related weedy native range plants, doing little permanent damage to the wildflowers or to landscapes and gardens. The adult form of the white-lined sphinx moth is a large dark brown moth with pointed forewings that is often seen at dusk sipping nectar from flowers. These moths are often mistaken for hummingbirds because both are similar in size, both can hover and both are easily heard humming as they visit flowers.

The Sun News had the entertaining little video below about the mothy dudes.





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