While walking along Louisiana today, Annie and I came across two of our neighbors tending their flower garden. Gracie, one of the “Cats of University Heights“, belonged to them before she passed away at age 19. Seeing my camera, the wife turned my attention to three caterpillars munching leaves.
I immediately exclaimed “Woolly Bear caterpillars!”—for their colors and fuzziness. But the resemblance ended there. My memory is a larva with orange band in the middle and black at both ends. If I rightly recall, and please correct me if mistaken, that caterpillar eventually becomes the Isabella tiger moth.
But what of these others? My guess, from feeble online searches: Another tiger moth variation, quite possibly Garden. No matter what they become, they were a treat to see and photograph. While I putzed around with Leica Q2, Ash came by to visit—for food, pats, and attention. He also is profiled in my kitty series.
The camera offers a built-in Macro mode activated by turning a ring around the lens. I used the mechanism to capture the Featured Image and companions—all of which are cropped. Vitals, aperture manually set for each: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/80 sec, 28mm; 10:51 a.m. PST. The second: f/4, ISO 100, 1/320 sec, 28mm; 10:51 a.m. The last is the same but 1/160 sec.