Recently while working in my Pollinator Paradise Demonstration Garden I was observing all the bee activity on the lemon beebalm (Monarda citriodora) when I noticed a slight movement out of the corner of my eye on one of the blooms. It took me while to figure out what I was looking at, because it seemed like a part of the flower was moving! Turns out I was observing a tiny inchworm called the camouflaged looper. The camouflaged looper is the larva of a moth called the wavy-lined emerald (Synchlora aerata). It gets its name from its ability to disguise itself from predators: it bites off pieces of the flower it is feeding on and attaches the flower pieces to its back so it blends in with the bloom and is practically invisible to predators such as birds!

And get this: if the caterpillar moves to a different flower with a different color scheme, it swaps out its disguise and replaces it with pieces of the new flower...how about that!

I was so charmed by this curious looking little inchworm and enjoyed taking photos of it as it moved around the bloom. I hope I can spot more camouflaged loopers in the pollinator garden this season...you can bet I'll be looking for them!