If you spend much time on social media, you have probably seen screaming headlines on Facebook, Twitter, or elsewhere about impending extreme weather. In the last few weeks I have seen wild stories about a late-season tropical storm forming in the Caribbean and an Arctic outbreak and snowstorm heading through the eastern US all the way to the Gulf. Neither of these had any real chance of occurrence but the people who post them are looking for clicks and attention.… Continue reading this article “Weather forecasting for gardeners and how social media misuses those predictions”
Month: November 2025
The very hungry caterpillar in my garden: Disclisioprocta stellata
The bougainvillea is my front yard looks really sad right now. The leaves exhibit scalloped, hole-y edges, something has definitely been munching on them. I suspect they are the appetizer, main course, and dessert for a very hungry bougainvillea looper, Disclisioprocta stellata.
D. stellata is a smooth-looking, yellow-green or brown caterpillar (the perfect colors to help it camouflage and evade predators). It is about an inch long. Loopers, also known as inchworms, belong to the family Geometridae.… Continue reading this article “The very hungry caterpillar in my garden: Disclisioprocta stellata”