Thursday, October 25, 2012

This is why we don't mow the Meadow!

We went outside after supper and wandered in the Meadow, where we watched butterflies. Dragonflies. Damselflies. So much going on! Then I happened to spy something yellow in the grass. A sulphur? Well, sorta. A banded argiope had caught it on her web! Low in the grass, the spider had spun her orbweb. Awesome.
You could barely see her in the grass. She blended in well.
Across the Meadow, we spotted another argiope on her web! She was just about to nab a moth, but it got away. Good for the moth but not for the spider. 

AND THEN, I happened to look down and spy....this COOL COOL COOL caterpillar! James spotted a second, then I saw a third. Back in the house, James looked through our caterpillar field guide and figured out that they're a white-lined sphinx moth species (Hyles lineata). We'd never seen a caterpillar like it before. Naturally, I told Peyton, our seventh-grade neighbor who LOVES caterpillars, about this species! 
James agrees that it's better NOT to mow (except for a few walking paths) the Meadow. So much life has a place to live life when we don't!

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