Look who I found helping themselves to a free lunch of delicious Pentas leaves in my garden. Hmmm!
Nibble! Nibble!
Munch! Munch!
Free Lunch!
These three caterpillars, and a few more of their butterfly-to-be buddies, have stripped many leaves from these usually lush Pentas plants. All in a matter of days. Fast eaters!
Before.
After.
So, what to do? It would be a lot easier if caterpillars feasted on chocolate cake and lollipops and sausage like the fictional one in the classic children's story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. (If you haven't read this delightful story, then here is a You-tube animation of it.) Alas, though, these caterpillars are real so no amount of chocolate cake will help:(
Instead, I decided to prune the Pentas because they typically respond well to a good 'haircut'. I carefully pruned each plant, removing stems, leaves and caterpillars. In doing so, the Pentas has a chance to recover and rebound with lush, thick growth. The caterpillars can continue feasting on the leaves of the prunings (and fresh supplements from the Pentas they hadn't quite started munching on) while they 'holiday' in an old fishtank. Through the glass of the tank we hope to be able to observe the rest of their life cycle unfold.
I wonder what butterfly (or moth) will emerge in the end?
Meg
Instead, I decided to prune the Pentas because they typically respond well to a good 'haircut'. I carefully pruned each plant, removing stems, leaves and caterpillars. In doing so, the Pentas has a chance to recover and rebound with lush, thick growth. The caterpillars can continue feasting on the leaves of the prunings (and fresh supplements from the Pentas they hadn't quite started munching on) while they 'holiday' in an old fishtank. Through the glass of the tank we hope to be able to observe the rest of their life cycle unfold.
I wonder what butterfly (or moth) will emerge in the end?
Meg
You are a better woman than me, I would have just squished them all...does that make me bad?...(insert wry smile)
ReplyDeleteI think it makes you more decisive! I'm not so decisive and that probably means I lose a lot more garden produce than I should. Meg:)
DeleteI never used to be able to squish them, until I went out one day to find my crop being decimated by them, I could have cried after all the time and effort it took to grow what ever it was they munched... I found it much easier to squish them after that!
DeleteMeg I have a couple of Butcher birds who know that when I whistle for them grubs up - literally. They follow me and my husband all around the garden.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very effective solution, Sherri. We have lots of Butcher Birds and Magpies who visit here and feast on worms and grubs and insects. These caterpillars hid themselves well though, I only knew they were there when I saw my munched-up Pentas. There have been so many butterflies in the garden lately that I'm sure there'll be more caterpillars. I won't be able to keep them all in a tank so perhaps I need to start whistling. Meg:)
DeleteThey eat really fast! I don't know if I could have tolerated them like you do ♥
ReplyDeleteI thought it must be grasshoppers at first, Summer. Grasshoppers get a blast from my hose and there are lots of insects and grubs that the birds here feast on. There are those, like these caterpillars, that escape those beaks. We've had masses of butterflies coming in to the garden lately so I expect lots more caterpillars. Perhaps I need to recruit a few more birds! Meg:)
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