hide and seek

•

This one was sent to me by Jennifer Moore, a naturalist at Ijams Nature Center. It falls under the category, the closer you look at nature, the more fascinating it becomes.


Jennifer writes:

“I remember playing hide-and-seek as a child—mainly because I was always one of the first people found. My brother, on the other hand, had an uncanny knack for hiding amongst the flotsam and jetsam of the small natural area where we played. I think Chad might be impressed with this little caterpillar that exhibits the same propensity for blending in.

“This master camouflage artist is a white-lined emerald caterpillar. They are most often found on flowers in the aster/daisy family and they actually attach flower debris to their backs in an effort to hide from potential predators. It’s a good strategy because I would have never noticed this little inchworm except for the fact that I happened to notice that the center of the black-eyed Susan appeared to be moving. As anyone will tell you, movement is a sure way to be found during hide-and-seek.”

Jennifer then moved the caterpillar—flower and all—indoors to study its behavior more closely. She concludes:


“After munching contentedly for days on fresh flowers that I placed dutifully in the terrarium, the caterpillar has now pupated. Continuing with its camouflage skills, the caterpillar shredded leaf parts and attached them to the outside of its chrysalis. At this point, I’ve been ‘it’ for almost a week, searching and trying to find the well-hidden critter in my terrarium. I’m anxiously awaiting emergence of the adult because I think it should now be ‘it.’”

Thanks, Jennifer.

- Photos taken by Jennifer Moore at Ijams Nature Center