Saturday, June 13th 2026

It was just windy enough to cause clouds of pollen to be blown from the Eastern white pines.

It was sunny and hot, in the low 80° F with light gusts of wind that would blow large clouds of pollen from the white pines (Pinus strobus). Spent the morning working in the nursery, helping customers and up-potting this years seedlings. Then in the afternoon we went to the Wild Seed Project showing of the film The Extraordinary Caterpillar at the Whitefield Library. The film was wonderful - I highly recommend watching if possible!

From the writer, director and producer of the film, Jeff McKay: “This film uses the humble and miraculous caterpillar – of the animal order Lepidoptera – as a lens to enchant, enlighten, and empower audiences with insights into the inner workings of our planet’s foundational food webs. The caterpillar transfers more plant energy into the greater food web than any other creature. Birds eat more caterpillars than any other insect – and they eat a lot. One nest of chickadees requires six to nine thousand caterpillars in just the first two weeks, and tens of thousands before the fledglings are fully independent. That’s for one clutch of a small bird. Then there are the bats, reptiles, lizards, mammals – even grizzly bears – who also rely on them.”

The film features The Caterpillar Lab, which we got to see last year at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. It was awesome! You can see so many amazing caterpillars up close and personal. They will be visiting CMBG again this summer and we will definitely be there.

Left: Movie poster, Upper right: Spicebush swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio troilus), Lower right: Cecropia moth caterpillar (Hyalophora cecropia)- both photos from The Caterpillar Lab visit to CMBG in 2025