SEPTEMBER EXTRA 2020 birdsandblooms.com 63
LEFT: MARK KOSTICH/GETTY IMAGES
MEETTHEEXPERTS
Kimberlyand
KennKaufman
aretheduobehind
theKaufmanfield
guideseries.They
speakandlead
birdtripsallover
theworld.MelindaMyers,a
nationallyknown,
award-winning
gardenexpertand
TV/radiohost,has
writtenmorethan
20 books.Q I’d never seen a bug
like this before. What kind
of insect is this?
Tammy Johnson SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURIKenn and Kimberly: This amazing
insect—with the pattern of a bumblebee,
hovering in front of flowers like a
hummingbird—is actually a moth called a
snowberry clearwing. It’s a member of the
sphinx moth family, widespread in the U.S.
and Canada, mostly east of the Rockies.
Unlike the majority of moths, it’s active in
daylight. Its caterpillars feed on the leaves
of honeysuckle, dogbane and snowberry.Q What’s the black stuff on my milkweed
leaves, and does it hurt the plant?
Stacy Jones NORTH LIBERTY, IOWAKenn and Kimberly: Some butterfly males are very
territorial, perching in the open and zipping out to chase
any passing flier that might be a rival male. But cabbage
whites don’t engage in that behavior, so this one was
probably in a romantic mood. The cabbage white in your
photo is a male (females sport an extra black spot on
each forewing), and males spend a lot of time looking
for females. Since their eyesight isn’t particularly good,
they make many false starts, approaching butterflies of
the wrong species—or even colorful objects that aren’t
butterflies at all—before they find receptive females.Q I saw a cabbage white pursuing a cloudless
sulphur as it laid eggs. Was it trying to mate
with it or chase it off?
James Tucker VENTURA, CALIFORNIAMelinda: This is a clue that aphids may be feeding on your
plants. Aphids and other insects, such as mites, scales and
whiteflies, feed by sucking up plant sap. They secrete excess
as a clear, sticky substance called honeydew. The black
color is from a sooty fungus that grows on the honeydew. It
becomes a problem when the sooty mold covers the leaves,
blocking the sun and turning the leaves yellow. Lady beetles,
other predatory insects and birds often move in and eat the
aphids that are the root cause of the problem. Insecticidal
soaps can be used if no caterpillars are present, but
milkweeds are tough and will survive the fungus damage.