Pollinator Week

— June 21-27, 2021, was pollinator week. Taking advantage of one day of cooler weather, I revisited the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. It was a very productive visit for a number of reasons.

While walking the grounds of the Wildflower Center, I witnessed a number of pollinators doing their job in carrying pollen from flower to flower. However, little did I know that I was going to have a few interesting surprises in the area where the center has some caterpillars. So, I thought it would be a different idea to show future pollinators.

The photo above is what started this whole series for this post. When I saw that silvery caterpillar, I knew I had to get a good photo of it. Since those caterpillars are kept inside a building, the window glass separating us was a challenge. Luckily I was able to place myself such that I reduced glare and my reflection.

The photo above is a Variegated Fritillary. Although I have made photos of other fritillary butterflies, I am yet to encounter a Variegated Fritillary butterfly. So, here is the caterpillar of a future pollinator. As the sign by the window explained, these larvae love passion flowers, violets, and purslanes. The butterflies can generally be found in prairies, roadsides, and other open areas. Even though is found in Canada and most all of the USA, it is not present in the Pacific northwest.

These next two photos are of a Cecropia Silkmoth and its cocoon.⁣ I am ever so thankful to the friendly staff at the Wildflower Center. During this visit, as I approached the area where these caterpillars grow, the staff in charge struck up a conversation and even brought out the Cecropia Silkmoth caterpillar out so I could get better photos without the glass window. That’s customer service beyond anyone’s expectations. She told me that those caterpillars had changed into cocoons earlier in June and would only emerge as a fully-grown moth in February or March of next year. That’s a 9-to-10-month gestation period, and the moth will only live 5-6 days once it emerges.⁣ The leaves you see covering the cocoon here are put there by the caterpillar in order to hide the cocoon from predators. The caterpillar itself was very large. It was approximately the size and width of an index finger.

One more example of a future pollinator comes a different area from the north side of Austin. This striped larva will emerge as a Swallowtail butterfly. I photographed that on a small patch of wildflowers on a station for pollinators just by my road biking trail on Kuempel Park in Pflugerville, near Gilleland Creek. I was there to photograph some wildflowers, including a few beautiful and large sunflowers. This is one of those moments when you are at the right place at the right time. There was a knowledgeable volunteer from the Pflugerville parks division showing the area to a visitor. I heard her pointing out this tiny larva. Even knowing it was there, I still had a hard time finding and focusing on it. The larva was just barely bigger than my thumb nail.

As always, please remember that by clicking on any photo, you will be able to see its larger format. You can even just look at the photos if you prefer.