![]() ![]() Rare lichens: Discover Wisconsins lichens. ![]() If you have a moment to sit and watch a stellar performance you may see the looper sway back and forth, adding to the illusion of a plant part being blown by the wind. Rare plants: Learn about plants on the Natural Heritage Working List. We’ve all seen the movie where a warrior incorporates leaves and branches into a camouflaged uniform to hide from the enemy, right? Next time you see this in a flick, just remember that a caterpillar thought of it first several million years ago. Bedecked with bits of foliage and flower petals, it is sometimes detected when performing a herky-jerky waltz as it moves from one meal to the next. This little trickster is the camouflaged looper, Synchlora aerate. These plants have been reported to show a great diversity in leaf colour among taxa and soil types, providing clues for local camouflage, but there is a lack of strict examination. These plants are TOXIC to pets and humans if consumed. ![]() While I have yet to discover them in my garden this season, if the rain ever abates, I will renew my search with vigor. Camouflage is a key defensive strategy in animals, and it has been used to illustrate and study evolution for 150 years. With large and distinct leaves, the Dieffenbachia plant is fantastic ornamental plant for all homes. Recently, several eagle-eyed naturalists have reported similar sightings on mints and Joe Pye weeds in gardens and meadows. Dieffenbachia Camouflage plants thrive best in the conditions found in nearly all homes and also offices. Its leaves are a mixture of dark and light. To keep your plant nice and thriving, its important that you add fertilizer every now and then. A closer inspection revealed a cleverly disguised caterpillar cloaked in purple petals busily dining on the flower head. The Camo plant is a general name for the Aglaonema pictum tricolor, which also goes by the name Chinese evergreen. Plants cant only survive on water, they need nutrients too. A thorough inspection of my mums failed to disclose the culprit, but as I watched the plant later while enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee, I noticed a small cluster of flowery debris swaying on a blossom. Frass, the euphemistic term for the pellet-like, powdery, or sawdust-like excrement of herbivorous insects, often provides a clue alerting one to the presence of an insect on or in a plant. Plants have a suite of traits for defending themselves from the various animal (and some non-animal) taxa which wish to exploit them. Several years ago while at work pulling weeds in a bed of chrysanthemums, I noticed a liberal sprinkling of caterpillar frass decorating blossoms of several plants. ![]()
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