Tomato Hornworm Caterpillar

Date Found: July 14, 2011

Common Name: Tomato Hornworm Caterpillar

Scientific Name: Manduca quinquemaculata

Found: In Finksburg, MD on my Mimi's tomato plant - one on the under side of a leaf, another on the stalk.


Fun Facts:

They live mostly in the Northern United States.

Commonly found in home gardens, and they attack tomato plants.  They are also know to eat pepper plants, potatoes and eggplants.

Eggs are light-green in color and can be found on the top and bottom sides of leaves in the late spring.

It gets to be 3 1/2 - 4 inches as a full-grown adult.

Instead of building a cocoon, this caterpillar buries itself in the soil to pupate for 2 weeks. After that time, the Sphinx moth will surface, mate and lay eggs for round 2 that year. These second set of eggs will hatch and grow to adult, like their parents, but they will bury themselves and pupate over the winter.  They will emerge as moths the in the spring.

Praying Mantis

Date Found: October 17, 2011

Common Name: Praying Mantis

Scientific Name: Mantis religiosa

Found: On the screen of our back door, Hampstead, MD


Fun Facts:

It eats caterpillars, moths, flies, mosquitoes, bees.

The Praying Mantis can be found in meadows, on foliage and flowers in the Eastern US up to Ontario.

Mantids lay their egg sacks on sticks and twigs that are exposed above the snow. When the weather warms up in the late spring, all the eggs hatch. The tiny nymphs are carried away on the wind.

It's a Mystery!

OK, two blogs in one day tells you that mom is helping out BIG time so I can get some playtime in.  We're at my  Mimi and Poppy's house in Finksburg, MD and look what Poppy found!

We don't know what it is yet because we found it already in it's chrysalis stage.  Thankfully, my sister let me borrow her habitat to keep it in for now.

Here is what we do know - the rest will have to be added later.

Found: April 10, 2011 (by Poppy)
Cocoon location on a branch of Rosemary in the garden.  You will have to check back to see if and when we solve this mystery!

Banded Woolly Bear

This one will have stages and more pictures since it is a caterpillar.  Also, the format may be different too as we try to show the different stages.

These two pictures are not our own.  

Borrowed from http://tinkernaturepark.blogspot.com  and  http://wiseacre-gardens.com

Found: April 7, 2011

Common Name:  Banded Woolly Bear Caterpillar

Scientific Name:  Isia isabella

Found again in our backyard, in the grass, in Hampstead, MD.  I brought this one inside, and mom let me keep it.  After Google, we found out that it eats grasses and broad leaves, so I got a fist full of grass and a dandelion leaf.  I put the caterpillar and grass in the habitat my Mimi gave me.  Over night, it made itself a cocoon.

He choose to build his cocoon right up against the door of the habitat, so this was the best picture we could get.  Chrysalis stage started Friday, April 9th.  If it hatches, I will let you know, but here's a preview of the Isabella Tiger Moth that is should become if all goes well!

Borrowed from http://dailyapple.blogspot.com

Clicking this link will take you away from my blog - my info came from:  http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/activities/printouts/Woollybear.shtml