I spotted this out of the corner of my eye this afternoon - had it not been sitting on the walkway I'd likely have missed it since it was barely an inch (2 1/2 cm) long. Of course I had to capture it (only digitally of course). After I shot it (digitally of course) I had to decide whether to let it carry on with its day or not.
You might wonder why I'd consider not letting it go, but I wondered whether it might be a polka-dot wasp moth - they produce caterpillars which are voracious eaters of oleander bushes and ours comes under regular attack. But I wasn't sure. I might have to check the oleander tomorrow to see if that's where it headed - if so, it's unlikely another reprieve will be in the cards.
I haven't yet bought a macro lens for my full frame Canon, but the cheap little 50mm f1.8 ('nifty fifty') got me a reasonable set of shots which I cropped so you could see this specimen. Another beautiful piece of Creation (as long as it leaves our oleander alone).
Update: after some sleuthing around the internet this morning I discovered what this moth was called - Spotted Oleander Caterpillar Moth (Empyreuma affinis). So, my suspicions were correct and I'll have to check out the oleander ... hopefully before it has !
You might wonder why I'd consider not letting it go, but I wondered whether it might be a polka-dot wasp moth - they produce caterpillars which are voracious eaters of oleander bushes and ours comes under regular attack. But I wasn't sure. I might have to check the oleander tomorrow to see if that's where it headed - if so, it's unlikely another reprieve will be in the cards.
I haven't yet bought a macro lens for my full frame Canon, but the cheap little 50mm f1.8 ('nifty fifty') got me a reasonable set of shots which I cropped so you could see this specimen. Another beautiful piece of Creation (as long as it leaves our oleander alone).
Update: after some sleuthing around the internet this morning I discovered what this moth was called - Spotted Oleander Caterpillar Moth (Empyreuma affinis). So, my suspicions were correct and I'll have to check out the oleander ... hopefully before it has !
