Family Visit

Last weekend my parents came to visit us in Michigan. We celebrated Arthur's birthday, visited the farmers market, and went on a nature walk. The walk might have been the highlight. My dad gave us a lesson on how to identify trees and we collected many leaves to bring home to identify later. We also came across this crazy looking caterpillar. Unfortunately it doesn't turn into a beautiful butterfly but a dull looking moth. It is called Halysidota tessellaris -- Banded Tussock Moth caterpillar. If you want to check out some other really cool caterpillars found in Michigan check out this website.
http://www.pbase.com/crocodile/caterpillars2004&page=all
My mom stay until Tuesday to see me teach at Michigan State. She made it through all three hours of the class with out falling asleep! It was nice to have her there and show her what I do every day.