American hazels have bright chartreuse-y green hazelnut casings right now (which will dry and turn brown as the hazels get ready to eat. They are fuzzy and smell fresh. Below is a little caterpillar. These things inhabit Queen Anne's lace as it goes to seed. As the flowers die off and the umbrels form protective cup-shapes, there is a black-spotted green caterpillar in almost every one. Right now, a lot of QAL still has blooming white flowers, but a few have started to form seeds. As time goes on, the wormies will pupate and, when the QAL has dry, ripe seeds, there will be little black beetles in the cups of the flowerheads.
I've seen the QAL beetles, but never the larvae. Thanks for giving me another thing to look for.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your posts. You talk about a lot of the same plants I have here in Southern Ohio.