Saturday Squirrel.

No longer a stranger...

A few weeks ago, in the Saturday Squirrel posting, a caterpillar was highlighted. Now, this caterpillar was spotted trying to enter the Presbytery. With a bright red head, neon yellow body, and large black "antlers," this caterpillar could not do anything but capture one's attention. When this find was brought to our resident theologian and botanist, Fr. Terry Ehrman, CSC, a positive identification could not be made. But Fr Terry would not let us, the readership of the Gentlemen’s Monthly, to be left in the lurch. Suffice it to say, his resolve to identity problem only strengthen. After an extensive search, Fr. Terry struck insect gold, identifying our caterpillar as Orgia leucostigma, or more commonly known as the White Marked Tussock Moth (WMTM). Spotted from Florida to Canada, the WMTM has been said to be one of the most ubiquitous caterpillars around- it could turn up on virtually any woody plant in the Eastern US. On his search coming to an end, Fr. Terry said, "Identified!"