Saturday, August 1, 2009

The Usefulness of Sunflowers, part 2


If you look hard enough you can make out an inchworm of some sort in the picture above. They're making a silky mess of some of the flowers but it's not an epidemic. I've just been finding a few of these little guys in some of the flowers. The mess of silk is usually a sign that they're there.


As the flower fades and the gold finches start eating their cover, if not the caterpillar itself they become more active and start to wonder off the flower. This, however, is a double edged sword.


Mason Wasps actually burrow through the mess made in the flowers in search of these worms. Staying has it's risks. They poke their their head into each slot where a seed used to sit and burrow into the hollow part of the flower.


Sometimes looking like a worm on a fishing line is a bad thing.


Others crawl around the plant on the outside. I have no idea what they turn into but I would assume some sort of small moth.