Monday, May 10, 2010

Danger Larva! Hungry Larva!

Sooooo, this first video may seem odd if YOU don't occasionally talk silly to larvae.

It's just me again isn't it?

Dang.


I stayed out of the second video ... no caterpillar provocation, no dirty hands (I WAS gardening at the time), and no narrative.

Just a hint, in case you are busy ... the scenery and events in the second video do not change after the first few seconds ... okay, the leaf gets just a little smaller, but feel free to back out before the end ... you won't really miss any action.





Tomorrow is the first of two field trips into the Gulf of Florida with my students.

The trips are Tuesday and Thursday so I should come back with lots of stuff to share with you.

Hopefully, that will not include oil or tar balls. We are still due east of the big slick. If the oil does get here months from now, we will have a nice snapshot of what was here on the grassflats and shores of Cedar Key Before Petroleum.

12 comments:

Thunder said...

It doesn't look good all the way to the Alabama shoreline right now and it looks like it's certainly going to reach Pensacola and Panama City beaches! Oysters and crayfish are off the diet for a few years now!

Bill said...

Plucked some caterpillars from the garden this morning. Unfortunately one of them was sticking his butt out of one of my tomatoes. Do you have the Jerry Baker book on Gardening products? It has some great recipes for critter control, all natural. I really hate grabbing those caterpillars. Thanks for sharing.

Billy

Lindsay said...

I just found this blog last night while looking up sandspurs (I had one in my foot for three weeks - Fun!) and I have to say, I love it.

You write wonderfully and I've learned a lot in the short time I've been aware of this great site.

"Look at my scary red thing" gave me a good laugh. Thanks for the great work!

Dani said...

Poor thing is gonna be scarred for life.

robin andrea said...

The videos are not loading for me. I have a slower connection these days. Ah well, I'll take your word for it that you are talking to larva. I talk to everything too. And weirdly, I call everything "honey" including the squirrels whom I am not particularly fond of.

Looking forward to hearing the account of your field trips to the gulf.

Anonymous said...

Hi FC,

Wow, that second vidio was dizzying! Seriously.

Have fun on the field trips.......p

PS Where's my b-day rib? Got some dry ice and my address??!! (licks lips)

R.Powers said...

Dave,
Don't be too quick to drop crayfish, alot of them are grown in inland rice fields in LA.
Should be oil free.


Billy,
I check my tomatoes every day for the first sign of those hornworms.
I don't have that book, but I know of the guy.

Lindsay,
Welcome to Pure Florida! Sorry about your sandspur ... that is one evil plant.
Glad you like PF! Thanks for the kind words.


Dani,
Me or the caterpillar?


Robin,
The bane of rural life ... slow connectivity!!



Patio,
"The rib is in the mail" LOL!
OOPs, Happy Birthday anyway!!

Doug Taron said...

No, you are not the only person who talks silly to your larvae, I do it all the time.

When you poked the larva to get it to show its osmetera, did you notice the rather strong odor that they produced? There is a hypothesis that the odor is making the caterpillar smell more like it's host plant, providing a disguise against predators that use olfactory cues in locating prey.

Anonymous said...

Hi FC,

Yeah, oops you say. Heavy sigh.

I'll be at Outback tonight trying their ribs! Not the same as homemade but will have to do..

Boy oh boy, people have been taking me out all week. Went to Cortesses Bistro in St. Augustine Monday night. Hate to say it but not very good. Nice setting though.

Patio

WV: obsen

It's obsen what I've eaten this week.

Hey, I know, it's a stretch but I'm getting old.

SophieMae said...

How cool is that?! I'm always hesitant to finger a fledgling flyer, in case I forget which ones sting. I'll shake a stick at the next one and see if it'll raspberry me from the blueberry bushes. That second clip looks a lot like somebody eating corn.

R.Powers said...

Doug,
I did not catch that odor, but I had read about it. I figured you probably did quite a bit of larva talking!

Patio,
Hit Schooners in St. Augustine for lunch or dinner and Theo's for breakfast.


Sophie,
I eat popcorn even faster than that!

Florida Native Mom said...

OK, I'm sending this first caterpillar video to all my family and friends who think I'm weird because I carry on (one-sided) conversations with my dogs.