One of my favorite things about hiking is you never know what you will find along the trail. Now that I'd made it to North Carolina, I was ready to lace up the hiking boots and explore.
Why did the pipevine swallowtail caterpillar cross the road?
Photo: © Debbie Hadley, WILD Jersey
After a strenuous hike that seemed to be all uphill, my friend and I decided to take a shortcut down the mountain. We walked down a forest service road, stopping now and then to watch butterflies nectaring on roadside milkweed and joe-pye weed. At one point, I realized I was talking to myself, and turned back to see what was keeping my friend. She seemed occupied with something on the ground, but quickly caught up to me.
"What were you looking at?" I said as we continued down the hill.
"Oh, nothing," she replied, "just some really weird looking caterpillar in the road."
"What!?" Sheesh, you would think she'd realize I might be interested in something like that. So I trudged back up the road to see the odd minibeast. And a good find it was, too. None other than the pipevine swallowtail caterpillar, which is easy to recognize with its prickly skin and black and red colors.
The "horn" gave away the identity of this rhinoceros beetle.
Photo: © Debbie Hadley, WILD Jersey
A few days later, as we hiked another trail, an unusually dark stone caught my eye. I bent to pick it up, only to realize the stone had legs - six of them. The legs didn't seem to be moving, and I thought I'd found a large june beetle. Once I turned the bug cadaver over, the victim's identity was confirmed by a pointy protrusion on the head. This was no june beetle, it was a good 'ole rhinoceros beetle.
You never know what you'll find on the trail, but if you keep your eyes open, you might just find something cool. Like a bug.
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