This guy was hanging out on my screen door as I headed off to work this morning. I thought a photo was worth sharing with the crowd. To my not so vast knowledge, I believe that this is a Epimecis hortaria or Tulip Tree Beauty. This would make sense since my backyard has three very large: Liriodendron tulipifera or Tulip Poplars, which are one of the Tulip Tree Beauty caterpillar hosts. The others include Paw Paw (Asimina triloba) and Sassafras albidum (Sassafras). I spend lots of time talking about native flowers and shrubs that you can plant that are host plants for our native Lepidoptera, but I sometimes neglect our native trees which are also important caterpillar hosts. Caterpillars are such cool creatures that I am learning to appreciate more and more.....
Speaking of appreciation do you have a native tree in your backyard that you say is HUGE but you'd love to know more about?? Join us this weekend with Stroud Water Research Center educator Vivian Williams for Five Ways to Measure a Tree.
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