9/1/07 – I spotted this caterpillar crawling across a path near the outfitter late last week and couldn’t resist capturing it on film. Former Sawbill crew member John Oberholtzer said he’d never seen one like it. After Caitlin and I checked field guides and I scoured several caterpillar identification guides online, I still couldn’t find where it fit into the bounty of wildlife found here in the BWCAW. One of the Web sites said that because of the abundance of these critters, many are still unmatched to their mature butterfly or moth counterparts. So, whether it was simply unrecognized by me or hasn’t been catalogued by scientists, its bright orange, hairless body with distinctive black and light blue stripe merited display here. -Lee

The unidentified caterpillar negotiates the forest floor near the outfitter.