Well, my Sarracenia flava is out of dormancy, and I noticed a small hole punched in its first pitcher before it opened. Today, the top has browned and died off and I wondered what got to it. I broke off the top, peered inside, and saw lots of nasty brown/black granules of crud, and something curled up in the bottom.
Well, "it" must have seen the light and gotten scared, and about 4 hours later I looked in again and a HUGE caterpillar was spinning webbing to close up the pitcher opening completely.
That's so awesome! Such a symbiotic relationship--Sarracenia provides a spawning ground, and nitrogen-rich caterpillar poop provides the first food of the year.
Sorry about the lack of pics, but could anyone give me a clue as to what kinds of caterpillars like to nest in Sarracenia pitchers? I live near Athens, GA--probably within the native range of any butterfly species that have evolved with Sarracenia in the southeast. I wondered what bug would possibly know to target Sarracenia, as it's quite foreign to the Piedmont. It looks green with black stripes.
Very, very smart bug. I'll try and give some updates as to what the thing does if anyone's interested.
Well, "it" must have seen the light and gotten scared, and about 4 hours later I looked in again and a HUGE caterpillar was spinning webbing to close up the pitcher opening completely.
That's so awesome! Such a symbiotic relationship--Sarracenia provides a spawning ground, and nitrogen-rich caterpillar poop provides the first food of the year.
Sorry about the lack of pics, but could anyone give me a clue as to what kinds of caterpillars like to nest in Sarracenia pitchers? I live near Athens, GA--probably within the native range of any butterfly species that have evolved with Sarracenia in the southeast. I wondered what bug would possibly know to target Sarracenia, as it's quite foreign to the Piedmont. It looks green with black stripes.
Very, very smart bug. I'll try and give some updates as to what the thing does if anyone's interested.