This year marked the second year with American Ladies Vanessa virginiensis. Our hostplants were more established, so I didn't find myself repeating last year's ritual of find Pearly Everlasting in the field every three days!
The new method for this year was to take small sections of Pussytoes Antennaria neglecta and root them in smaller pots. The former method was to simply add leaves to the container as needed; but this seemed to force the AL cats to make nests more frequently than they might do in nature. The new method allowed the cats to make nests in whole plants.
The method had mixed success. The major problem was that I inadvertently put a large cat in with several eggs and 1st instar cats. They all disappeared but one.
The overly hungry caterpillar...
The key to success seems to be to provide two plants per caterpillar.
JRC
Thursday, August 4, 2011
American Ladies
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3 comments:
Jeff, I know a professional lepidopterist who looked at your blog and said the following:
Love the blog, particularly the entry on rearing Battus philenor larvae. Those have got to be some of the coolest Lepidoptera larvae on the planet; North America should be proud of laying claim to them. I'd love to find some in the wild someday. But there are none in Ohio, and they were disappointingly rare where I was in Virginia this summer. Someday!
Greek to me, although I know Greek a little better then I do butterflies.
- "mikelmann"
Jeff,
Totally random and off topic, but I want to get your input on Romans 2:14-15 and whether this refers to Unbelieving Gentiles or Believing Gentiles.
Here are my thoughts (taken from Augustine actually) on the matter:
(1) The language of having "the law written upon the heart" is found in various places in the Bible, but in each instance it refers to someone being inducted into the New Covenant: e.g. Jer 31:33; Heb 8:10; 2 Cor 3:3; Cf Eze 36:26. If we're using the principle of "Scripture interprets Scripture," the default assumption for this 'unclear' Romans 2:14-15 passage should be to think these are Believing Gentile Christians. (The ESV even has a cross reference from 2:15 to Jer 31:33.)
(2) The context itself is dealing with Jewish pride against the Gentiles, considering them second class, to which Paul speaks of "uncircumcised" keeping the law as a condemning testimony against Jewish hypocrisy (2:26-27). And Paul concludes all this by saying the real circumcision is that done on the heart by the Holy Spirit (2:29). This last verse is undoubtedly speaking of Christians, and the language of the Holy Spirit transforming the heart has a clear echo of the New Covenant prophecies of Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 36:27, etc.
(3) I would consider it dubious and highly doubtful that Paul would be speaking of universal sinfulness in Rom 1-3 and yet in 2:14-15 suddenly insinuate that Unbelieving Gentiles can do good works, keep the law, etc. It would make more sense to assume only Believers keep the law in a way pleasing to God.
(4) The Gentiles doing what the law requires "by nature" would have a Pelagian tone to it, so it makes more sense to think this refers to renewed/restored nature via the New Creation, New Heart, etc.
Do you agree with this assessment? Do you think it makes more sense to conclude the Gentiles of Romans 2:14-15 are actually Believing Gentile Christians?
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