Milkweed Tiger Moth Caterpillar

You would think this colorful, tiger-striped caterpillar would turn into a beautiful Monarch butterfly, since it is eating Milkweed leaves, wouldn’t you?  This is a Milkweed Tiger Moth caterpillar or Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillar.  He eats Milkweed just like a Monarch caterpillar eats.  This eye catching caterpillar turns into a drab beige Tiger Moth or Tussock Moth.

Milkweed Tiger Moth caterpillars hang out in groups of up to 50 caterpillars.  They have quite an appetite and can decimate a Milkweed plant leaving only bare stems.

This group of caterpillars found the Milkweeds planted near the Education and Visitors Center on Highway 28 at the Horicon Marsh.

Dense Blazing Star Liatris with Queen Anne’s Lace

Drifts of Dense Blazing Star Liatris beautifully complement Queen Anne’s Lace near the entrance of the Education and Visitor’s Center.  Queen Anne’s Lace is a distant relative of the garden carrot.  The first-year taproot can be cooked and eaten.

Prairie Plants at the Education and Visitors Center

A sea of white, yellow, and purple wildflowers grows next to the Education and Visitors Center.  These prairie plants attract bees, butterflies, and birds.

Prairie Coneflower

Bright yellow Prairie Coneflowers  cheer the hearts of hikers along the Bachhuber Trail.  According to the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers, if the center of the coneflower is bruised, it smells like anise.

Eastern Kingbird

After a refreshing visit at the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area, I drove north to the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge. Both areas form the Horicon Marsh. The Eastern Kingbird perched in a tree along Highway 49.

Eastern Kingbirds

He had company.  Two more Kingbirds were assertively making sure they got his attention.

I thought they were being aggressive and defending their territory, but they were begging for a tasty grasshopper treat.  Kingbirds feed their young for up to seven weeks.

Chipmunk

I entered the auto tour and a chipmunk scurried out of his grassy hole to investigate.

He munched on a seed while watching the cars go by.  Check out those fingernails!

Eclipse Male Wood Duck

Eclipse Male Wood Ducks are seen in late summer after the breeding season.  They retain their bright red eye and red bill.

Female Wood Duck

Female Wood Ducks have a large white eye patch and a gray bill.  There are a lot of Wood Ducks along the auto tour and Highway 49 lately.

Juvenile Gallinules

Juvenile Gallinules find something interesting below the Duckweed on the water’s surface.

Mottled Ducks

Do you find brown ducks hard to identify?  I find them difficult. I think this is a Mottled Duck.  A Black Duck has darker plumage that is not so well outlined as this pair.  A female Mallard has a dark area on the bill.  An eclipse Mallard has white on the tail.  A female Gadwall has a more slender bill.  What do you think?  Please join the discussion in the comment section.

Sunset at Palmatory Street

I finished the evening at Palmatory Street watching the sunset until the mosquitos chased me away.  There are so many diverse things to see at the Horicon Marsh.