Observation date: April 22, 2022
Submitted by: jamesvonloh
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: Individual caterpillar foraging in a small black cherry tree along the trail in Soledad Canyon, the same tree in which I observed a pair of adult, Red-spotted Admirals in September 2021, where the female was depositing eggs in this tree and on adjacent Apache plume shrubs. The larvae is described in the literature as a "bird-dropping mimic"; upon my first observation on a very windy day, it appeared to me as a black caterpillar with a fungal infection. The mid-day was warm, under sunny sky, and with wind blowing 40-50 mph, gusting to 55-6- mph.
Status: Resident
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: April 25, 2022
Coordinator notes: fabulous, Jim; good host plant documentation, too.
