Nickknacks

Got woken up by something rustling at the foot of my bed, turns out the tiger moth caterpillar that I had had eclosed! Meet Rosy, the arge moth! (Grammia arge) #lepidoptery #finalsweeksurprise

While Goober the Polyphemus is sleeping, he has a hungry caterpillar roommate, a giant leopard moth caterpillar! #hypercompescribonia

I found a salamander mermaid today at Wildlife Techniques!

This little deer mouse caught in our smammal traps ran into the corner and sat and ate birdseed, was handled, then stayed there stress-eating birdseed for another half hour. I think I've found my spirit animal.

This morning's pancake art is brought to you by moths, aliens, wonky bats and stars.

Our little friend from the last Wildlife Techniques weekend loves to dip in his little pool! Meet Maraschino, a millipede from the Xystodesmidae family. He's part of a group known as cherry millipedes, because when they get spooked, they release a compound that smells like cherries! How cool! #apheloriavirginiensis

The caterpillar that I found at the research campout finally eclosed and is pumping his wings! Such a gorgeous Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma). #proudbugdadmoment

After a second weekend of field research, I've realized that this is exactly the kind of work I want to do for the rest of my life. Also, look! A wood frog buddy! #lithobatessylvaticus

Meet Elvira, the bold jumping spider! She's the newest addition to Apartment 131C! #phidippusaudax

Time for another round of Nature Nerd Nick's cool critter Finds of the Week: a beautiful black swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio polxyenes) that was chowing down on some Queen Anne's Lace at work! These little guys love to eat plants in the carrot family and have little smelly horns called osmeteria that they use as a defense mechanism #lepidoptery #papiliopolyxenes #osmeteria

Found an awesome-looking pair of walking sticks hanging out on a tree while on a hike today! I didn't even realize we had them so close! #phasmatodea #accidentallythirdwheeledabunchofinsects (at Seven Tubs Nature Area)

Found a red-backed salamander (#plethodoncinereus) in the lead-backed phase on Friday during our Wildlife Techniques class! I'm so excited to start studying them this semester!

Nature Nerd Nick Bug Baby update! The black swallowtail caterpillar finally eclosed! She looks stunning! Big thanks to my best friends Chris and Zack for looking after them for me while I was at school, you guys are the best bug parents ever! #bugraising #lepidoptery #blackswallowtail

Nature Nerd Nick update: Goober's now fully ensconced himself in a little wrap of silk and oak leaves and beginning his metamorphosis into adulthood! On the top right is a pic of the moth he'll turn into (Polyphemus moth, Antheraea polyphemus) and the bottom right is the cocoon that he's in (I didn't want to disturb him in the process). We should have an awesome grown-up moth in about 2 weeks!

Meet Goober, the polyphemus moth caterpillar who is newest addition to our (not so) little caterpillar family! One of my campers found him on a tree on our last day of camp! He'll be a beautiful moth soon! #lepidoptery #antheraeapolyphemus

What do bored bug dorks do on a late Tuesday night, you ask? Cicada conga lines out of 40 shed cicada shells that you found today, that's what! #cicadacongaline #bugnerd

Operation Froggy Drop is a go! We released a ton of frogs and tadpoles from our tank after we watched them metamorphose through the week! #bullfrog #pickerelfrog #herpetology (at Fuchs Pond)