Rewilding My Lot

There is a young American Beautyberry shrub near the back door, so I see it every time I go outside. A few days ago I noticed a Bordered Patch caterpillar just curled up on a leaf, and the next day there was a chrysalis in that location. That’s the lighter object in the above photo.

When I saw the same thing happening a couple of days later, I paid more attention and tried to watch the process of chrysalis formation, i.e., popping outside to take a look any time I thought of it. What I saw was hours of the caterpillar in a curled position and then the next time I looked, the wrapping had been mostly formed, so I missed the most exciting part. Here are some photos of the process (starting with the picture at the top of this post).

I have had plenty of Bordered Patch caterpillars on sunflowers in the garden, so I’m not surprised to see them wander onto nearby plants to pupate. It’s a bonus to see two in close proximity (see next photo).

Another thing happening on the same American Beautyberry plant is a cluster of insect eggs on the underside of a leaf. I haven’t been able to find out what they are yet.