No, not my kids.....me! I was a lepodoptra kid. Well, I liked Jerry Lewis anyway. :)

I found one of these guys under the seed dish on the fence 2 weeks ago. He was hiding from the birds I suspect. Nice picture, Ingrid!

Ginny

I discovered a blonde colored one like that in the garden last week, I left it alone.

I've had a hummingbird visit the salmon agastache and lobelia cardinalis nearly every day since the first sighting August 3rd, and yesterday I had two monarchs nectaring on the echinacea.

and in my back yard it is swarming with these I can't get a good shot if I get close they fly away I wonder what they will be eating when they turn into caterpillars

So what is the orange and black guy anyway?

I used to jar them when I was a kid, too =:)

Any thoughts on what the others will turn into?

Lophocampa maculata That seems to be the latin name and I read they will be gypsy moths . But who knows. Differen site will have different info

Wooley Bears, aren't they?

I am always afraid of caterpillars and what they eat the orange and black fuzzy ones are cute don't normally see them en mass. But the tent caterpillars can reek havoc in no time I am a bit afraid of what I might get from these little white butterflies/ moths
Here is the wiki link for your caterpillar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lophocampa_maculata

That's what we always called them too. Wooly Bears.

Spotted Tussock Moth is what these fluffies turn into. They are common in Alberta. Although I haven't seen one of the caterpillars in a while, this year being an exception, I have had an adult moth trying to get in my window by my computer for about 2 weeks now. They are nocturnal so no one has eaten it yet. :) The moth is rather fuzzy too! They like birch and maple trees like the ones outside my window. They also like these old double pane storm windows to pupate in. Dad always called them Tiger moths. :)

Ginny

if you put them in a jar as a kid did you ever get one to change into a cocoon? Mine always got away or died :(

Ours did too.Just like the fireflys we put in jars. Never made it.

Most of the cute fuzzy caterpillars are in the tiger moth family, which isn't a scientific name but your dad was right Ginny. We hatched a White marked tussock moth caterpillar in a jar of leaves this summer. When it came out of the cocoon it was a wingless female and we put her outside where she immediately attracted a mate. It was quite fascinating. Google the pale marked tussock caterpillar and you will see why we kept her. ;)

Great shot Beegood!
Haven't seen one this year, I usually see them on apple trees.

>>I wonder what they will be eating when they turn into caterpillarsCLBlakey
There are allot of them around this year, the caterpillar will eat anything in the cabbage family,...yes, they're called cabbage butterflies, ...I've bee fighting them on my Kale.

That would have been fascinating, Gil. I remember seeing those as a kid although not since or maybe I am just not as curious as I was in my younger years. Back then I usually had a basement bedroom in this old house and I would put my butterflies and moths in between the window panes. Sort of a built in terrarium. Dad didn't ever really try to stop my zoology collecting until I caught 32 frogs and made a home for them in his rainwater tub under the hose! Still have that old tub out in the garden. :)

I also had a bubble bee named Flyby. She died. :( 100% animal lover this girl.

Konrad, I have also noticed lots of cabbage moths this year. Maybe the mild winter?

I have to say that I don't have near as many bugs around here since I have so many bird brains coming to dine. =:)...........cept ANTS and SKEETERS!

Ginny

This one's for you Ingrid. :)

Ginny

Gee thanks. Hard to believe there is anything edible in those flowers. I have a lot of cabbage butterflies too. They seem to love the clover . Hundreds of them.

We had a LOT of butterflies of all types this summer. Last year's "bug of the year" was dragonflies and this year it was butterflies. Can't complain about that!

Yes there has been a huge amount of monarch's around here. But I've also been swatting and stepping on lots of cabbage moths...when they go after a plant they can pretty well defoliate it! We also have these mainly black butterfly's that I don't know the name of.

Speaking of dragonflies though, we still have lots of hummingbird-sized ones!

The black ones with a line of white marks down each wing are White Admirals. There's also a large, dark brown butterfly called the Mourning Cloak.