Back in mid-September I spotted this caterpillar feeding on the flowers of pitcher sage – a beautiful tall blue flower – in one of our prairies.  I’m pretty sure I’ve photographed this same kind of caterpillar before but don’t know what it is?  Tiger moth larva maybe?

Caterpiller on pitcher sage (Salvia azurea). The Nature Conservancy's Platte River Prairies - Nebraska.

Sometimes I find surprises in my photographs as I’m looking through them after the fact.  Such was the case with this one.  While I was concentrating on the big fuzzy caterpillar (and fighting the gentle breeze that kept swinging it away from me…) I didn’t notice the little inchworm and ant on the next flower over.  Fortunately, they don’t detract from the photo – in fact I like them there because it helps portray the diversity of life in prairies – even on a single flower cluster!