Meet the Hickory Horned Devil

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juvenile stage by Kristen Peterson

The Hickory Horned Devil is the largest caterpillar in North America and one of the most unforgettable. It goes through a dramatic transformation, beginning life as a small, dark, spiky creature and growing into a bright green, six-inch-long caterpillar with vivid red horns and a prehistoric look. Despite its intimidating appearance, it is completely harmless!

Early Life

In its early stages, the Hickory Horned Devil is easy to miss. Young caterpillars are dark-colored with long, fine spines and short horns that often have spoon-shaped tips. They may have reddish coloring along their midsection and spend this time feeding on leaves in the canopy of native trees like sumac, walnut, sweetgum, and hickory. This color phase is brief but fascinating, and those familiar with the species may still recognize it even at this early stage.

 

full size caterpillar by Murray Fisher

full size caterpillar by Murray Fisher

Growing Up

With each molt, the caterpillar grows larger and brighter. Eventually, it reaches its full size, glowing green with black-tipped red horns, and covered in subtle blue and yellow markings. This stage typically peaks in August, when the caterpillar prepares for the next chapter of its life cycle.

 

Pupation stages by Richard Stickney

As summer winds down, mature Hickory Horned Devils leave the trees and begin to crawl across the ground, searching for soft soil. Once they find a suitable spot, they burrow underground to pupate. Unlike many other moths, they do not spin a cocoon. Instead, they remain underground in a tough, smooth pupal shell where they will spend the winter.

 

Adult Regal Moth by Naomi Zahn (FIRST)

The Final Form: Regal Moth

The following summer, if all goes well, the adult moth emerges. Known as the Regal Moth or Royal Walnut Moth, this beautiful insect is one of the largest moths in North America. It has rust-orange forewings with cream spots and soft gray hindwings with orange stripes. While stunning in its own right, the adult moth lives only for a short time and does not eat—it exists solely to reproduce and continue the cycle.

Why It Matters

The Hickory Horned Devil is not just a fascinating insect… it is also a valuable part of our native ecosystem! Its presence on Fishers Island indicates healthy host plant populations and minimal pesticide use. Like many native caterpillars, it provides food for birds and other wildlife and plays a role in supporting broader biodiversity!

We are fortunate to spot this species on the island. Whether you’re walking a trail or tending your garden, keep an eye out for these incredible creatures and appreciate their place in our shared landscape.

If you’ve photographed one on Fishers Island, we’d love to see it! Share your sightings with us and help us celebrate the wildlife that makes this place so special.

Nature Day Story Walk

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Nature Day 2025

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Panel Discussion

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Insect Catching and ID with Expert Entomologists

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Come explore the amazing world of insects with expert entomologists Bryan Danforth and Marina Caillaud (Cornell University). We’ll be out in the Parade Grounds with sweep nets and bug boxes, catching all kinds of cool critters and learning how to identify them!

This is a fun, hands-on session for all ages, whether you’re a bug lover or just curious about what’s crawling and flying around out there. The entomologists will walk you through the basics of catching, handling, and identifying insects, and they’ll be happy to answer all your questions!

All equipment will be provided. Just wear comfy clothes, closed-toe shoes, and be ready to explore.

Where: The Parade Grounds
When: July 19th at 9:30 – 10:30 AM

Moth Night Into The Lights at the Parade Grounds

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Love nature and bugs? Come join entomologist Dr. Adam Mitchell and our awesome FIRST team for a chill evening of insect discovery at the Parade Grounds!

We’ll be setting up big white sheets and vapor lamps to attract all kinds of cool critters—moths, beetles, and who knows what else! You’ll get to learn about their wild behaviors and help out with our annual biodiversity survey, which helps track native plants and how well the island’s habitats are bouncing back.

Details:
Friday, July 18th, 2025
Starts at 9:30 PM (drop by anytime)
Parade Grounds

Whether you’re a full-on bug enthusiast or just a little curious, this is the perfect chance to experience nature in a whole new way. Bring some friends, your sense of adventure, and let’s see what shows up under the lights!

Shorebird Season Winds Down, But Not Over

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As the summer progresses, the shorebird nesting season on island is winding down. This year’s monitoring included a mix of hopeful success and continued challenges. Here’s an overview of what we’ve seen so far, what remains, and how we can all play a role in protecting these sensitive species!

South Beach – Fencing Removal Coming Soon

Piping Plover pair with fledged chick Photo captured by Emma C.

This site hosted two Piping Plover pairs this year. One pair fledged a single chick, while the other successfully fledged two. These are encouraging signs, especially considering the vulnerability of these birds during the early chick-rearing phase. With fledging confirmed, we’ll be removing the symbolic fencing that has been protecting these nests.

Important note: Even after the fencing is taken down, please be mindful in this area. Fledged chicks often remain nearby for foraging and safety, and plovers are known to return to the same beaches year after year. Continued low-impact presence by beachgoers and staying on wet sand, avoiding flagged areas, and leashing dogs makes a real difference!

Big Club Beach – No Nesting Observed

This season, we saw no nesting activity here. A single plover was observed foraging, but it never established a territory or attempted to nest. The most likely cause? Repeated human disturbance. This beach, though really suitable in habitat, remains a high-traffic area. Without safe nesting space, plovers simply move on.

The fencing at this site will also be removed. While there were no active nests, continued public education and future monitoring remain critical. Restoring this beach as a viable nesting site will depend on all of us recognizing the signs and minimizing our impact!

Beach Pond (Behind the Oyster Farm) – Still Active & Vital

Least Tern nesting captured by Anna W.

Known formally by NYSDEC as “Beach Pond,” this remote site has become a key refuge for both terns and plovers. So far this year:

  • Three Least Tern nests have been confirmed, with two eggs in each (so far)

  • A Piping Plover pair has started their first nesting attempt, with a clutch of four eggs.

This site is unfenced due to its natural isolation and lack of public access, which reduces the risk of human-related disturbances. However, it is not free from threats… like gull predation. We have documented gulls interfering at the nest site, a common and difficult challenge for open-ground nesters like plovers and terns.

 

Eighth Hole Beach – Nesting Outside the Fence

4 Piping plover eggs (and a sneaky rock) captured by Anna W.

Here, a plover pair is attempting a second nest after an initial failure earlier this season. The symbolic fencing remains in place and will stay up until any chicks have safely fledged.

The new nest is located just outside the protected area, highlighting how nesting birds don’t always follow our boundaries. To adapt, we’ve marked the area with pink flags to signal nesting activity to beachgoers.

Please use caution when near this area. These nests are fragile and well-camouflaged. Even a single unintentional disturbance can cause adults to abandon their nest or lead predators directly to the eggs or chicks.

Mud Pond Beach (East Beach) – No Further Activity

After a failed nesting attempt in mid-June, no plovers have been seen at this site. It remains unfenced and inactive. While disappointing, this outcome isn’t unusual. Nesting success is heavily influenced by habitat conditions, predators, weather, and disturbances—all factors that fluctuate year to year.

This site will continue to be monitored in the seasons ahead. Even a site with no activity this year could become an important location in the future if conditions improve.

Stony Beach – Inactive Site

No Piping Plovers, no nests, and no activity observed during the entire season. This beach has remained quiet for plovers despite being historically suitable. We’ll continue to monitor it as part of our full island coverage.

This concludes our formal surveys for Piping Plovers, American Oystercatchers, Terns, Skimmers, Gulls, and Wading Birds, carried out in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). Only a few active nests remain, and fencing at those sites will stay in place until the chicks have fully fledged!

We’ll continue to track those nests, and you may see team members conducting follow-up visits in the coming weeks.

What You Can Do

2 Least Tern eggs captured by Anna W.

Fishers Island is one of the few places where endangered and threatened coastal birds still have a chance to thrive. Every resident, visitor, and beachgoer plays a role in that success.

Here’s how you can help:

  • Respect fencing and signage. These protect active nests and give chicks the space they need.

  • Keep dogs leashed and avoid flagged or marked areas.

  • Stay on wet sand when walking along the beach.

  • Report unusual activity including predator sightings, off-leash dogs near nests, or unmarked nest scrapes.

Let’s continue working together to ensure these birds return next year and have the space and safety they need to raise their young.

A Talk with Doug Tallamy

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Sunday, July 20, 2025 | 4:00 PM
FI Movie Theater & via Zoom

The Fishers Island Conservancy is proud to co-host a special presentation by Dr. Doug Tallamy, leading entomologist, conservationist, and co-founder of the transformative Homegrown National Park initiative.

Join us on Sunday, July 20 at 4:00 p.m. for an illustrated talk at the movie theater (also available via Zoom), where Dr. Tallamy will share his compelling vision for restoring biodiversity, starting in our own backyards! Following the talk, there will be a book signing and a reception.

With a national goal to convert 20 million acres of turfgrass into native plant habitat, Homegrown National Park challenges individuals and communities to rethink their landscapes and take action. Tallamy’s message is simple but powerful: we can no longer rely solely on protected wildlands to sustain native species! Real conservation must also happen where people live! On private property, in public spaces, and across working lands.

Drawing on decades of research and outreach, Dr. Tallamy will highlight how native plants support insects, which in turn support birds and the broader web of life. Through engaging visuals and practical advice, he’ll demonstrate how replacing lawn with native species not only helps wildlife thrive, but also reconnects us with the ecosystems we depend on.

A longtime advisor to the Fishers Island Conservancy, Dr. Tallamy’s ecological expertise helped guide the restoration of the Parade Grounds… a living model of habitat renewal that continues to inspire conservation efforts across the island.

Whether you’re a seasoned gardener, a curious newcomer, or someone looking to make a difference at home, this talk will leave you with the tools and motivation to take part in one of the most hopeful grassroots movements in conservation today!

Learn more about Homegrown National Park

Buzzing About Bees with FIWMD

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Eastern Carpenter Bee by Kristen Peterson (iNaturalist)

Eastern Carpenter Bee by Kristen Peterson (iNaturalist)

The Fishers Island Conservancy is helping Fishers Island Waste Management District get people buzzing about why bees are so important to the ecosystem and what are the non-lethal ways to reduce bees being drawn to our waste areas.

If you have an allergy or are otherwise concerned, please ask our attendants to dispose of your household trash and recycling for you. Your safety is our priority.

Why Bees Sting (and Why It’s Rare)

Please note that typically, the act of a bee stinging someone is far more dangerous to the bee itself than the person they are attempting to sting. This is because the stinger is often barbed and difficult to remove from the skin of a vertebrate—in some cases, the stinger itself remains embedded and the insect disembowels itself in the process of trying to get free.

Honeybee workers, which can have up to thousands in the hive, are expendable and their hive can afford the workers to sacrifice themselves like this.

Our native bees rarely sting as they are mostly solitary; however, both solitary and honeybees would likely be attracted to the same kind of lethal trap or poison that might be considered an option.

Why Bee Traps Don’t Work

Western Honey Bee by Murray Fisher (iNaturalist)

Western Honey Bee by Murray Fisher (iNaturalist)

Bee traps are ineffective in reducing the numbers of bees, and are even potentially counterproductive because they are baited to attract bees.

Sugary residues, food waste, and certain scents naturally attract them, especially when alternative foraging options are limited.

What You Can Do

While there will likely be no foolproof way to keep the bees from being attracted to any sweet-smelling waste, there are ways to mitigate the situation.

Pick up your complementary green 7-gallon bucket from the Compost Station and start separating your food scraps from your household trash. This diverts heavy wet materials from being a waste that is shipped off island into a resource that turns into beautiful free compost for your garden.

This also means less sweet-smelling household trash at the transfer station which will in turn attract fewer bees.

Rinse your recycling—this will also lessen the attractiveness to bees.

And, again, please know that our attendants are there to help you and can dispose of your trash and recycling on your behalf.

A Healthy Bee Population is a Good Sign

Seeing bees around the island is actually a good sign! It reflects the health and resilience of our local ecosystems and shows that our island continues to support a strong pollinator population.

Pollinator gardens provide high-quality food sources away from human areas, helping reduce direct bee-human encounters.

Traps, on the other hand, are largely ineffective because they kill indiscriminately, often harming beneficial or harmless species, and they don’t address the real attractants like unwashed recycling or food waste.

Broader native habitat improvements, like invasive plant removal and native species planting, will go a long way toward creating sustainable solutions that benefit pollinators and the larger ecosystem.

Bee ID: Who’s Buzzing Around?

Common Eastern Bumble Bee by Steffen Kucsera

Common Eastern Bumble Bee by Steffen Kucsera

Not all bees are the same, and not all are likely to sting or even live in colonies. Here’s how to tell some of our most common bee visitors apart:

Honey Bees
These bees are small and golden-brown with fuzzy bodies. They live in large colonies and are social pollinators. Honey bees are the ones that produce honey and can sting, but usually only when threatened.

Bumble Bees
Bumble bees are larger and rounder, with very fuzzy black-and-yellow bodies. They’re also social but tend to be gentle. Bumble bees are excellent pollinators and rarely sting.

Carpenter Bees
Carpenter bees look similar in size to bumble bees but have shiny, hairless black abdomens. They’re often spotted near wooden structures, where they create small nesting holes. Males don’t sting, and females usually won’t unless directly handled.

Knowing which bee you’re seeing helps reduce fear and encourages appreciation for the vital role they play in our environment!