The Unnamed Caterpillar Got Identified Today

No Sense Rushing Things

The first and only time, I ever ran across a white caterpillar, like this was April of 2015.

Doc Graff and I were on a mission, to find and photograph the endangered Ryukyu Robin.

April is the best month to find them, close to the ground, feeding their youngsters.

We, didn't run up the trail because, we're a bit too mature, to act like teenagers.

We huff and puff and meander up the mountain and, enjoy the fresh air.

Taking your time, gives a better view of nature. We're very observant.

Doc, had gone ahead, to get closer to the waterfall when, I spotted this.

Climbing the trail, there's spots where, cellular service no longer exists.

It's like being in the wilderness which, I kind of enjoy. I was catching my breath.

Standing on this wooden platform, smoking a cigarette is what, I was really doing.

Whoa.  It's like some little bottle brush, started coming towards me.

Forget smoking. Put the butts in yer pocket and, get down to shooting !

 

It's a good idea, to get photos from as many angles as possible.

You'd never know, this guy has red feet if, you didn't get down real close to him.

All along, I'm wondering, what kind of butterfly this creature would turn out to be.

In my pending photo files, there are hundreds of items, waiting for identification.

Yesterday, I sent these photos, to a couple of sites for help.

The Moth and Butterfly Identification Forum, on Facebook, came through today.

Chrysaeglia magnifica, was suggested by a gal named Lisa.

After checking several websites (with images) I think, I've narrowed it down.

This one, will be named Chrysaeglia magnifica taiwana, for the time being.

In no particular order except, the way the research got done, here's links:

Japan Moth Org

Larva at Japan Moth Org

Wikiwand

Gagabiodiversity

Scientific Name: Chrysaeglia magnifica taiwana

English Name: It doesn't have one, yet

Japanese Name:  (Rurimon hosoka) ルリモンホソバ 

Mission Completed

A hike all the way to to top of the trail, wouldn't have been complete, without photos.

We went, hunting for the Ryukyu Robin but, didn't see any along the way.

The falls and some white caterpillar, would be the only memories from that trip.

Coming back down the trail, I spotted someone, down by the river.

A nature guide and a woman, with a camera and a humongous lens, were in there.

She was shooting the birds, we had come all this way to capture.

See: Hiji Waterfall a Most Refreshing Climb for more.

A Moth that Hangs Out in Daylight and How We Gotterdun

Nyctemera adversata

 

 

This one had me going, for awhile, because, I thought it was a butterfly.

A few of the English names are Tiger Moth and White Marbled Moth. 

Locally: Monshiromodoki (モンシロモドキ) is what they're called.

The critter was out back on my neighbor's Shiso plant.

It didn't seem to be eating the stuff so, I figure it may have been depositing eggs.

It  didn't appreciate having its portrait taken and, flew off.

It landed on a Mugwort plant and, I got one more shot of it.

Identification Didn't Take Long 

 

 

Okinawa Yanbaru Field Guide ISBN978-4-408-32351-0 gave the Japanese name.

What I do, is use a handy Japanese keyboard to type the characters.

It would crack you up, if you could see me trying to type Japanese.

It takes me about an hour, just to punch in 100 words in English.

And, that's when I'm using both of my typing fingers, at full speed.

Life Would Be Rough Without Email 

 

Once all the information (in Japanese) looks presentable, I email it to myself.

That way, I have created a document, I won't lose.

Er, I might get stuck, doing the typing all over, again.

The email, gets sent from one computer to another one, sitting right next to it.

Sometimes, it takes 5 minutes to arrive so, I take a break and stretch with my smokes.

Do you suppose the government reads the stuff ?

Rumors Float Around Saying Governments Spy on Each Other

 

They may be interested in where I traveled online today and what I've been up to.

First, I copied and pasted my Japanese writing into a search engine.

 YahooJP works for me but, that Chinese Bauidu is used, sometimes, too.

What we're trying to come up with, is a scientific (Latin) name.

The Latin term, is always in English letters.

Wikipedia in English or, Japanese works for finding Latin names and photos.

But, it's always best to verify, anything that came from a Wiki.

The Wiki folks gave me Nyctemera adversata 

So, I thank them and run with it.

From the Government of Hong Kong in Frame #98 Tiger Moth showed up. 

Over at Macau University, I got a look at four more photos of this moth.

A gal named Sylvia had photos from China.

SAMUIBUTTERFLIES confirmed we have a Tiger Moth here via Moths of Thailand.

The JP Moth Org gave several photos but, no English.

One of my favorite sources was back in Hong Kong. It showed the caterpillars, too.

It's Good to Know What the Baby Moths Look Like

 

Suppose, that moth was depositing eggs on my neighbor's plants so, they could eat them.

Luckily, I made that document and emailed it to myself.

If I see those little critters eating the vegetables, I'll tell my neighbor.

And, I can pull up the caterpillar's pictures for her to see.

Then, she can go out in the garden and squish them !