A Flamboyant Spider and A Yellow Bear Tiger Moth Caterpillar
My Nature Journal Summary
| Date | August 20, 2022 |
| Time | 2:45PM EDT |
| Temperature | 83ยฐF / 28ยฐC |
| Weather | Broken clouds |
| Wind | 3mph, 0ยฐ N to S |
| Humidity | 65% |
| Habitat | Creek to lake, oak and mixed hardwood forest |
| Animals Encountered | Spotted Forest Orbweaver spider (Neoscona domiciliorum) |
My Nature Journal Photos
Yellow Bear Virginian Tiger Moth Caterpillar
I consider myself lucky to have encountered this Yellow Bear Virginian Tiger Moth caterpillar because, in my experience, any species of tiger moth larvae is difficult to spot in the wild. As a rule, they prefer to come out at night to feed, and spend their days hiding under cover. So even though many species exist within Family Arctiidae, the tiger, lichen, and wasp moths, most people never get a chance to see one of their caterpillars.
This caterpillar looks soft and fuzzy but beware! As happens many times in nature, this caterpillar is not as cute and cuddly as it appears to be. Each of its tiny hairs, called “setae” are covered in microscopic barbs. These sharp barbs can penetrate human skin and our mucosal membranes and can cause allergic reactions and other medical problems.
Also, many species of tiger moths are toxic to predators. These animals sequester toxic chemicals from their food plants in their soft body tissues (Wagner 2005). Predators that ignore the visual warning of these caterpillars’ bright yellow color and eat one of these caterpillars run the risk of becoming very ill.
As always, the very best practice while enjoying the natural world is to “look but never touch”.
Spotted Forest Orbweaver Spider Neoscona domiciliorum
This species of orbweaver spider is abundant in the southeastern United States, especially during the late summer months. As is common with spiders, males are much smaller than females and so are rarely seen. I usually see the large females, like this one.
Most of the time, these spiders hang suspended from the center of their intricate spiral spider webs. I spotted this particular spider clinging to a tree trunk. I’m not sure why she wasn’t in her web, unless she ran away from a predator or was preparing to repair her web.
Regardless, her colorful body stood out beautifully from the pale tree bark.
References
Wagner, David L. 2005. Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
