Lots going on and lots of photos.  These are mostly moths and caterpillars.

My caterpillars are all growing, and I’m finding new ones all the time.

I have 4 kinds of Sphinx moth this year.

A Modest Sphinx moth came to my lights a few weeks ago; I kept her overnight and she laid eggs.  So now I have about a dozen caterpillars that are about 2 1/2 inches long and keeping me busy feeding them aspen leaves.  They like to hang upside down.

Ian gave me 3 other kinds of Sphinx caterpillars – all of them are eating Virginia Creeper.

Nessus Sphinx – they pupated a few days ago.  This was their final instar – much more colorful than the earlier ones.

Virginia Creeper Sphinx

Lettered Sphinx – these have also pupated

More interesting moths have come to my lights.

Bog Lygropia – although it’s not always found in bogs

Lappet Moth

A tiny one with distinctive coloring – Cream-bordered Dichomeris

An Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moth – I saw lots of these – it’s a big year for them

A Tufted Bird-dropping Moth – a terrible name for a beautiful moth.

Snowy Urola Moth – this was actually taken at MJ’s in Iowa, but they came to my lights in Wisconsin too.

Large Lace-border Moth

Grape Leaffolder.  It has two species names, because it’s not possible to tell the difference between the two species from a photo.

The largest insect I’ve seen recently was an Elm Sphinx.  This female came to my lights.  I kept her overnight, but she didn’t lay any eggs.  I found out later that I should have kept her longer.  She was about 3 inches long – you can see that she was as long as my forefinger.

A Green Leuconycta – I love green moths

Several creatures came to the lights that weren’t moths:

A cool beetle – I don’t know what kind

A Green Lacewing

And some frogs – maybe they were attracted by all the insects

Gray Tree Frog

Wood Frog

I found a large group of caterpillars eating Black-eyed Susan leaves in one of the prairies.   I know they’re butterfly caterpillars, but I’m not sure which kind – I think they’re Silvery Checkerspots.  I’m raising them in an aquarium, and they’re just starting to pupate.

Here’s a closeup of one of the caterpillars.

All my Promethea moths hatched.  They came out very late this year – usually they hatch at the end of May.  I had mostly males this time – only one female.

Here’s one of the males

And the female

Mated Prometheas

A mother raccoon came by one evening with her five babies.