We Eat! Vegetarian life in forests

 

It’s October, but in 2023 the temperature is definitely higher than the average years for Kanagawa Prefecture. The scenery in the forest still looks like the end of summer. Probably, it’s not all bad. For those creatures living and growing in the forests, like caterpillars et al, a long summer means longer availability of meals, i.e. leaves ... er not only that maybe mosquitos and blood suckers in forests are still active, all right ... But today, I want to tell you my observation about the leaves-eating of worms and the like. I’m a sort of impressed with the variety of table manners they show on lots of lots of leaves in forest!

Exhibit 1: Caterpillar for Dark Evening Brown (Melantis phedima) 

The adult butterfly of this species become active in late autumn in relatively dark broad-leaved forests near human settlement. So, their baby must be ready around this time to pupate, and we can meet the caterpillar in mid-summer. I noticed these days the baby of Dark Evening Brown is getting popularity as “Oh, you know, they look so cute!” If you try to find them, walk forest during mid-summer and find grasses on the border between the forest and grass land or road. If the sward-like leaves are eaten here and there, look the other side of them, and we may be able to meet a darling caterpillar of Dark Evening Brown. They’re pasted on the other side of leaves, against the law of gravity, and munching such sharp edges of Poaceae. Their round small head with pointed antennae are really cute!

Here!

A cocoon of Japanese Giant Silkworm

Exhibit 2: Japanese Giant Silkworm (Caligula japonica)

Basically, their babies are not picky but opportunists eating leaves of oaks, sweetgums, etc. that can often be used for street trees. I’ve also found their possible table manners on leaves of laurels. Hmmmm, yeah, the laurels smell nice and appetizing …

Still very young Japanese cinnamon,
an endemic species in Japanese forest.
The leaves of them are eaten …
maybe by Giant Silkworms, or deer.

Exhibit 3: Acropteris iphiata 

In this photo, it’s resting on an eaten leave of … I don’t know. Anyway, its caterpillars are munching poisonous Euporbia, Apocynaceae, Daphniphyllaceae, etc. that are commonly found in Yokohama’s forest. They eat such things to arm themselves with toxin and fend off predators. Wow.

Exhibit 4: Family of Cucurbit leaf beetles 

Yeah, they are enemies of veggie farmers. But in Yokohama and Kanagawa’s forests, there are many other non-cashable cucurbits, like Trichosanthes cucumeroides of this photo (; my post on September 10, 2020). It seems to me depending on the species, their table manners are different. Some Aulacophora nigripennis of this family first “write” a circle on a leaf, then eat inside the demarcation completely. The eaten leaves become like an installation of Yayoi Kusama. For these leaves of the photo, I think the eater is some other cucurbit leave beetle … whose aesthetics inclines more to oval, not circle …

Cucurbit leaf beetles or not,
Trichosanthes cucumeroides started
to have colors now.

Exhibit 5: Family of Twirler Moss 

This photo is an eaten leaf of Solanum lyratum, a plant of Solanaceae. Caterpillars of twirler moss love to munch leaves of Solanaceae family, which is a hated habit by veggie farmers. Anyway, the baby of a moss must be very hungry …

Exhibit 6: Everybody loves Urticaceae family.

… Boehmeria japonica is attacked. It seems to me the leaves are loved by kids and adults of many insects. Not only the regular longhorn beetles, but also babies of large moss like Ramie caterpillar, or butterflies. Indian Red admirals eat them as they like. I guess the kids first ate soft tissues between the leaf veins, then decided to devour the hard parts as well … It’s the beginning of fall and they felt their time for meal is limited …

Exhibit 7: And Legumes are also popular. 

Come to think of it, we humans eat legumes a lot as they are tasty and good for our health. So do the insects. The leaves of legumes are rich in plant-based protein and energy. The bugs, including large locusts and beetles, love them. This is a sorry state of kudzu, an alien invasive species for Americans. We cannot blame these insects while we eat Tofu …

The table manner of eater here is a kind of “orderly”
… start eating from the edge.

Exhibit 8: Artemissin, no matter

It’s Pertya robusta, of Asteraceae family. I don’t know if it has artemisinin in its body, but Asteraceae is also loved by some species, like cabbage moth.

Collecting photos of eaten leaves, I realized once again plants are really serving as food for many animals. Yap, those eaten leaves may look unsightly, but could be evidence the forest is living in a nexus of creatures … Er, formal talk aside, it’s fun intentionally searching for eaten leaves in forest. Please try, if you like. It’s a continuous art gallery installed by numerous bugs and the others in nature!

If you find environmental issues in Kanagawa Prefecture, please make a contact with Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center 神奈川県自然環境保全センター

657 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, 243-0121
〒243－0121　厚木市七沢657
Phone: 046-248-0323

You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/div/1644/