Okay, two blog posts in one day has got to have one or two readers wondering what gives. This: I’m sick. I’ve tried writing (too exhausting), reading (also too exhausting) and sleeping (strangely impossible). Blogging is … just right. And so I’ve decided to fill you in on the Viburnum Mysteries.
On Sunday my kids and I found several mysterious creatures on our viburnum bushes. We suspect the pearly green, roundish ones are the eggs of a super interesting species of moth, but can’t be sure until they hatch. To ensure we don’t miss the blessed event, we’ve moved two of the eggs indoors. How? Well, I’ll tell you …
I clipped a stem with several leaves—including the leaf supporting the egg—and placed it in a plastic stem holder. You know, the sort you get when you buy a flower arrangement? They are usually green in color and conical in shape., florists fill the plastic base with water and slip a stem through a hole in the rubber cover in order to keep stems alive longer. Here’s a picture:
© Loree Griffin Burns
As you can see, I placed these stem holders into a yogurt container to keep them upright. (Before you decide to skip a step and place the stems directly into a large container of water, realize this: caterpillars cannot swim!) I then put the yogurt container and stems into an old fish tank. The tank is here in my office where I can check on the eggs regularlyconstantly.
I left a few eggs outside on the viburnum bush … I call these my control group. Will moving eggs indoors prevent them from hatching? Or slow down hatching? I’m not sure. But keeping an eye on my outdoor control eggs as well as my indoor eggs will help me answer these questions. In a stroke of brilliance that hit me only after I spent an extremely long time trying to find my outdoor control eggs this morning, I’ve tied ribbons around the relevant viburnum stems to make locating the eggs easier:
© Loree Griffin Burns
Can you see the black ribbon? And the little green egg? They are both in the picture, honest.
After three days of waiting and watching, I can’t tell you much. My indoor eggs and my outdoor eggs are quiet and nothing visible to the naked eye—or even a magnifying-glassed eye—is happening. Sort of makes me wish I had a microscope; then I might be seeing this.
!
Anyway, stay tuned …