VIDEO: Alien Encounter… in the Shrubbery

Posted On: November 9, 2009
Posted In: Blog, Photos, Video
Comments: 6 Responses

Okay, here are a few photos of wildlife — the tiny variety.

oleander

Last week Kristy and I were lounging on some sun chairs in Florida. Yes, with apologies to our friends up north, it was sunny enough for sunbathing. (This obviously was before Hurricane Ida came to town.)

Anyway, behind our sun chairs was a row of unremarkable landscaping shrubbery – a group of leafy green bushes with long branches. I wasn’t paying these bushes any attention, even though some of the branches extended right above my chair.

Kristy glanced in my direction.

“Ummmmm…. What are those things?” she asked.

“Things?” I replied. “What things?”

“Those little furry things … crawling right above your head?”

I glanced up at a shrubbery branch that was indeed hanging a few inches above my head. Upon it were crawling a bevy of miniature space aliens.

Okay, they weren’t space aliens — they were oleander caterpillars.

These caterpillars are a ravenous lot, famed for their voracious appetite. Just ask some of these bushes, which were almost stripped bare by the grazing insects.


Eventually the caterpillars morph into “polka dot wasp moths,” strange little blue moths that are nowhere near as interesting as their furry counterparts.

Okay… so I went a little overboard snapping photos of bugs.

Trust me: they were fascinating! They kept me entertained for quite a while.

It just goes to show that sometimes the most interesting wildlife encounters are right beneath our noses….in the shrubbery.

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6 Responses to “VIDEO: Alien Encounter… in the Shrubbery”

  1. RG Coleman Says:
    November 10th, 2009 at 8:53 pm

    What the what??? Great photos! What camera are you using?

  2. Sean Michael Says:
    November 11th, 2009 at 5:29 am

    Thanks Rhonda! My camera is a Nikon D40. It’s one of Nikon’s entry level DSLRs, but it’s a great camera.

    The funny thing is, I recently bought a telephoto lens for it, thinking I would snag some cool pictures of wildlife. You know, deer, foxes, birds, etc. But instead of getting photos of animals, so far I’ve just captured caterpillars. Oh well… they are fascinating nonetheless!

  3. N3qdz Says:
    November 14th, 2009 at 11:35 am

    KNIGHTS OF NI: Ni! Ni! Ni! Ni!
    ARTHUR and PARTY: Ow! Oh!
    ARTHUR: Please, please! No more! We will find you a shrubbery.
    HEAD KNIGHT: You must return here with a shrubbery or else you will never pass through this wood alive!
    ARTHUR: O Knights of Ni, you are just and fair, and we will return with a shrubbery.
    HEAD KNIGHT: One that looks nice.
    ARTHUR: Of course.
    HEAD KNIGHT: And not too expensive.
    ARTHUR: Yes.
    HEAD KNIGHT: Now… go!

  4. Sean Michael Says:
    November 16th, 2009 at 12:42 am

    ROGER THE SHRUBBER: Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history.

    ARTHUR: Did you say shrubberies?

    ROGER THE SHRUBBER: Yes, shrubberies are my trade. I am a shrubber. My name is Roger the Shrubber. I arrange, design, and sell shrubberies.

  5. AliceGrace Says:
    April 14th, 2010 at 10:36 pm

    Please. Start a new career in voice-overs for nature programs. Seriously. I don’t think it i’s incompatible with traveling around in an airstream. National Geographic’s webcam for the African waterhole is crying out for the Raymond Burr of voice-overs. It will be a challenge for you since 20 hours of the day have only birds tweeting to dramatize, but I know you are up for the job. “I put it to you that you ate that worm”! [Breaks down crying] “yes, yes, I admit I ate that worm”! “ah ha, case closed”. [Gavel falls]. Fade to black.

  6. Sean Michael Says:
    April 14th, 2010 at 11:43 pm

    Ha! I wasn’t sure if anyone would appreciate this one. Yes, it’s weird. In my opinion, we should do more weird! And I should do more over-the-top voice-over!

    Some guys really make a nice living doing voice over. Think my voice could cut it in Hollywood? ;-)

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