Hmmm... not sure. I went back outside to look at him again. I do not see any yellow on him, but his rear does look a little like a W. Probably the photo above was reflecting something to make yellow show up. I'll keep posting photos until he either disappears or goes into a chrysalis. That would be nice to photograph it in the Moth stage to know for sure. Everytime I check him out and disturb him, he moves along the waterlily leaves to hide from me. But I don't want to bring him in. I have no way to keep him inside because he likes to be in the pond.
Another cat to ID ....
It looks like he has a broken light colored strip down his back. If it is a cutworm, he will pupate in the soil and you'll probably lose track of him. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted lol.
Hows little ugly fella lookin now Becky??????????????/
Should be gettin big by now................
Mark ....
I'm sooo glad you asked ..... LOL!
Here's a photo I took this morning. He is sure getting uglier by the day! LOL
Becky
I just cant wait to see what he turns in to......................bet he turns into something sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo gorgeous!!!!! LOL
awwwwwwwwwwwwwww he is a bit prettier than he was i think......................LOL
Don't hold your breath...you'll be waiting a long time! lol
Yeah but definately worth waiting for......................
Well, I'm more of the belief that this fella is not going to be anything spectacular other than some interesting patterns. I'm sure he'll be beautiful to his mother tho. Is that you, Becky? LOL
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, don't say that it won't be spectacular............... Poor Becky is so excited about it......... She loves her little cat!!!
You betcha she is Mark!! It's a tough job and somebody has to do it... Becky is "it' in her neck of the woods..LOL
Oh i know she is Deb........... I think its sweet that she loves her little cat...........
Yes she probably is 'IT' in her neck of the woods....... LOL
Hows things with you Deb......???
LOL! Y'all are making me laugh so hard! ROFL! This ugly cat is a novelty for me. Since I am not actually raising him in a cage, I don't have quite the emotional attachment to him as I would have otherwise. He's certainly got a face only a mother could love! And I do find him quite interesting. I've had my pond for about 7 months now and that is the first time I have ever seen a cat in it. Who would have ever figured they eat lily pads? LOL If it goes into the ground to pupate, we'll never know. I wish there was some way to track him or cage him at this point before he morphs. I really would like to know what he's going to be when he grows up. Aspirations of an ugly cat ...... lol
My internet service has been giving me fits all day again. I've been dealing with this problem for over a year and it's acting up almost every day as usual. Grrr.... so if you don't see me on here much ..... that is probably the reason. :-( They are supposed to come out again tomorrow to "fix" it! Yeah .... we'll see. They've been out here so much that they know me on a first name basis! >:-S
I'm doing great Mark, thx! o/~
This message was edited Jan 12, 2007 7:23 PM
In all honesty Deb, it's possible that the Noctuid Moth that you post a photo of may very well be this cat when it turns to moth form. I see them all over the place around here. Though they are not very big moths. This cat is 1" long now.
I don't have a macro lense on my camera so it is hard to get a close-up shot. I have to take the photos from a distance and then crop the photos down. Here's a photo taken today also that actually looks pretty sharp. You can really see it's marking in this photo.
That's a great pic for not having a macro! You can really see how ugly it is now! ;) lol Poor baby, he can't help that he's just all brown.
Those are good pics Becky!
In the picture from Dec 31, 11:52, you can see an inverted 'Y' on his head and the link that Deb sent showed that for the armyworm. In some of the pics I couldn't tell the front end from the back lol
Funny.....only a mother could love...or Becky. You are a good cat mama!
fly_girl - LOL! I have to look really close to tell which end is which on this cat, too. I really do think it is an army worm. I just didn't know they would tolerate water areas. When he looks "slimey", he's not. He's actually just wet from being on the wet waterlily leaves. Which surprised me, because I thought he would move away from wet leaves. There are plenty of leaves sticking up out of the pond water that are dry. Go figure!
well maybe we will find out shortly. Doesn't look like Armyworm to me either
Becky ..
Is this another thread you'd started > http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/680666/ .. about this same caterpillar?
(looks like it)
This one bears some resemblance also: The Arcigera Flower Moth (Schinia arcigera) > http://bugguide.net/node/view/5814
- Magpye
Yes, Magpye! I posted it in several forums trying to get an ID on it. The Arcigera Flower Moth (Schinia arcigera) does look very close in appearance to it. They can be found in my zone. But .... the host plant is Asters. Waterlilies are definitely NOT asters or any relation to that plant. (Hmmmm ....Scratching head .....)
The list for many caterpillars' food sources, aren't definitive or all-inclusive(?) tho' ..
My Wagners book mentions Asters, horseweed, and related composites. Also, there are those that state a 'known' food source, but because there have been reports of seeing [them] chomp on the leaves, buds, etc., of other plants, etc., - they'll merely generalize, by stating .. 'other forbs', etc.
Such as the Tobacco Budworm (Heliothis virescens) .. is stated, "Common food plants: Ageratum, cotton, geranium, ground cherry, roses, soybean, tobacco, and many other plants."
I'm anxious to see what you are able to document these lil guys to be, so will be waiting in the side-lines also! (lol)
((huggs))
- Magpye
I have to wait out too, so far the "Arcigera Flower Moth (Schinia arcigera)" presented by Mags there is a top contender. And we are having fun, in case anyone asks..
:>
Well, I have some sad news.
I was out in the yard working and happened to walk by the pond that our ugly mystery cat is in and I saw him floating in the water. Apparently, he fell in or tried to crawl to another leaf and didn't make it. I pulled him out and put him on a dry waterlily leaf and he moved around for a short while, but in the end he didn't make it. So sad. :'-(
It's disappointing as I was hoping to find out what he was going to be. I was seriously thinking of putting dirt in one of my containers and adding him in there with some plants. I think he was getting close to going into a chrysalis. What a bummer!
Awww Becky.....sorry for your loss...hugs! Good thing ya hadn't gotten too attached. Seems maybe a tad bit more than a novelty after all, yet the garden is full of things like this we miss on a daily basis. I missed a flock of some really cool birds today as well... know how ya feel about the cat.
WHAT I WANT TO KNOW........................ IS HOW DOES THIS WORK??????????????????
http://www.mysticalball.com/
Awww...that's too bad....we were so close.
Mark, I was stumped at first but I think I figured mystic out.
Please tell me more fly_girl................................... how does it work??
I think the chart is changed after each guess. So, look for the most doubles close to each other and choose that symbol. I tried it about 10 times and I was right....try it.
I haven't figured out how the number guessed is the most common symbol.
Condolences Becky.
Mark, I had to do some more thinking on it......here's what I came up with....
All the numbers will either be 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 56, 65, 72, 81. So, these #'s will always have the symbol he selects.
I didn't crunch them all but many......11=9, 24=18, 35=27, 46=36....see?
Oh, that's too bad. Not exactly the ending we were all hoping for! :( Maybe he didn't wait 30 minutes after he ate to get in? ;)
Hahaha KB! Maybe he got tired of Becky taking his picture all the time lol
oh poor baby.
Awwwwwwwwwww, it is so sad.................. sorry about your little friend Becky!!!!!!!
Becky~ This might help... I just sent off 2 chrysalids..One wee frit, and one big BST & some seeds.. Overnignt mail. They are supposed to arrive before 3 PM tomorrow, no signature rquired, (in case you're not home).
Boy am I nervous....LOL! They were very alive moving well in their Chrysalids.. I hope they make the trip well.. Gives a whole new meaning to BFs in my stomach. Whew!
I chose the biggest one of my BST, hopefully the strongest, hehe.
(I soooo have the jitters!!)
Well, I actually do miss the ugly spud. I was really getting interested in what he would become. Thanks for all the condolences! ;'-( Apparently he didn't know how to swim. Why would his mother lay eggs in a pond if the cats can't swim???? Irresponsible mother!!! :-S I guess I am just as bad .... I should have taken him out and put him in a safer place. Hindsight. (sigh) Next time!
Mark - I was reading down this thread and came to your post and I .... stopped ..... and wondered what in the world??? I am like .... what is Mark talking about!!!??? LOL
But even funnier ...... "SUPER" fly_girl was trying to figure it out! ROFL!!! You guys/girls are too much! LOL
Deb - I am looking forward to receiving your package tomorrow! I will post here as soon as I get it to let you know that it arrived and how well your babies are doing! Thanks for the seeds, too! Can't wait!!! Now I have butterflies in MY stomach! ;-)
It's kind of slow around here Becky, so I threw myself on the challenge lol I was unable to get to sleep until I figured that silly Mysticball out!
You're lucky to still be seeing and raising cats and I hope deb's makes it okay to Becky's Butterfly sanctuary.
That poor little cat.....if he pupates in the soil how was he supposed to get out of the pond? I guess his mama didn't think of that part.
Thanks, fly_girl! Believe me ..... I KNOW how lucky I am to have all these butterflies and cats right now in January! Two years ago I didn't have any butterflies or cats at all in my yard. My gardens have grown so fast in just 2 short years! And the butterflies have flocked to it! I'm so surprised! Was not expecting such an abundance of flying beauties! Come Spring - you and others here will be posting all your gorgeous photos on the forum. And the hummer photos will make me sooooo green with envy! LOL I just know y'all are going to be delighted with butterflies soon! :-)