Posted in Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, wildlife, tagged Acronicta oblinita, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Smeared Dagger, Smeared Dagger caterpillar, Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar, Tamron 180mm on September 30, 2016| 5 Comments »
I love to photograph insects with cool or unusual names, like this caterpillar known as the Smeared Dagger moth caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita). Who makes up these crazy names? (Photographed on Monday at Huntley Meadows Park.)
One of my other favorite names is the Twice-stabbed Stink Bug (Cosmopepla lintneriana). Yes, that’s a real insect. You can’t just make this stuff up, or maybe you can.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Acronicta oblinita, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Smartweed caterpillar, Smeared Dagger, Smeared Dagger caterpillar, Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 17, 2014| 6 Comments »
I love to photograph insects with cool or unusual names, like this caterpillar known as the Smeared Dagger Moth Caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita). Who makes up these crazy names? Freddy Krueger? Jason? Someone obviously had been been watching too many slasher or horror films.
The first time that I photographed this caterpillar, I called it the Pittsburgh Steelers caterpillar, because its colors matched those of the Steelers’ uniforms. I even proposed that the Steelers adopt the caterpillar as a mascot, but the idea didn’t catch on—a fuzzy caterpillar probably doesn’t match the Steelers macho image anyways.
Now that I have captured the Smeared Dagger, I’m searching for one of my previous subjects, the Twice-stabbed Stink Bug (Cosmopepla lintneriana). Yes, that’s a real insect. You can’t just make this stuff up, or maybe you can.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Sports, tagged Acronicta oblinita, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, caterpillar, Huntley Meadows Park, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Smartweed caterpillar, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 5, 2013| 10 Comments »
This past weekend I came across a type of caterpillar that I first encountered last fall. Its black, yellow, and white markings once again made me think of the Pittsburgh Steelers National Footbal League team that wears those same colors.
The sports pages of the newspaper currently are saturated with articles on football, so it’s only natural that I think in those terms (and I apologize to the rest of the world for any confusion caused by the fact that we Americans use the word “football” to refer to a game that doesn’t use feet much at all and use “soccer” to refer to the other “football” game).
I enjoy referring to this caterpillar as the Steelers caterpillar, though, of course, it has a “real” name, which I think is a Smartweed caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita). Some US states have state insects, so I wonder if the Steelers would welcome a fuzzy new mascot. This could be the start of a trend and a marketing opportunity—there are more than enough caterpillar types around for each team to adopt its own.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Acronicta oblinita, Canon 50D, caterpillar, Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar, Tamron 180mm macro lens on August 25, 2013| 18 Comments »
Who makes up these crazy names? Freddy Krueger? Jason? Believe it or not, this colorful little caterpillar is called a Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita). Someone obviously had been been watching too many slasher or horror films.
Fortunately, it has another name—it is also called a smartweed caterpillar.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Acronicta oblinita, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, caterpillar, Cattail Caterpillar, Huntley Meadows Park, Simyra insularis, Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar on September 26, 2012| 1 Comment »
The bright green leaves of the plants in the marsh have faded and most of the colors are more subdued than in early summer. Against that muted backdrop, I was surprised to come across a brightly colored caterpillar this past weekend. It looks a bit like the Cattail Caterpillar (Simyra insularis) that I photographed and described earlier this year, although the spiky red tufts are more extreme on this caterpillar. I think I can detect the prominent black and white pattern that was so visible in the image that I posted previously.
This is the first year that I have paid close attention to the cyclical changes in plants, animals, birds, and insects. I am excited to see what new species will come into my field of vision as we move through the fall.
UPDATE: I did a little more research and now think that this caterpillar is actually a Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita).
Colorful caterpillar in late September
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 