Baby Butterflies--Lots of Caterpillars-Yahoo!

It is monarch haven here in Tiger Way Gardens and I have been enjoying all of the baby butterflies-in the form of caterpillars-tremendously. I thought I'd share a few with you all today. Above we have three monarch caterpillars munching on Asclepias tuberosa, aka butterflyweed. I started all of my butterflyweed from seeds in January 2016 via winter sowing. The plants have all been planted in the gardens and many are now blooming. Most all of the plants have monarch caterpillars feasting on them. Butterflyweed is easy to start from seed and I definitely recommend winter sowing for them.



The pictures are not the very greatest because they were taken with my phone but it was all I had at the time.

Last year I had my property certified as a monarch waystation and I'd say judging by all the monarchs flitting about laying their eggs here we have become a pretty good monarch waystation.This is not the first year I've had monarch caterpillars but the population has exploded over last year's population. All of the newly planted milkweeds have made quite a difference.


One monarch caterpillar can completely eat a butterfly host plant to the stem. All of the host plants for monarch are plants in the asclepias family. Things such as the above mentioned butterflyweed, swamp milkweed, whorled milkweed, showy milkweed, redring milkweed, common milkweed, and many more.

This stem above is all that remains of swamp milkweed and as you can see there are now NO leaves on it. I ordered 100 swamp milkweed plants and 100 whorled milkweed plants from Monarch Watch last summer. I did not receive any plants until this summer--but they did finally come. I have planted out all of the swamp milkweed but not all of the whorled milkweed. Two hundred plants are a LOT to plant out on the property so it is a slow process for me. Hopefully we'll get some rain soon so I can finish planting all of the milkweed. This milkweed will recover and I do not worry that it is leafless.

I have tried to restore our property to a fairly natural habitat which includes wildlife areas that involve not only flowers, but trees and watering and sheltering spots for pollinators as well as wildlife. The milkweeds were an addition for the monarchs. I was absolutely delighted to see monarchs not only on my butterflyweed but also on the swamp milkweed. All of these plants are pesticide free and are growing in gardens. I really haven't checked the wild milkweed yet for caterpillars but hope they are playing host as well as the cultivated plants I grow.

Talking about plants being eaten to the stem this here is what I believe to be a snowberry clearwing moth caterpillar. I don't have any snowberry plants in my garden but these caterpillars will also much on honeysuckle (Lonicera) and bush honeysuckle (Diervilla) and I do have both of them on the property. This caterpillar was most likely munching a good stand of lonicera nearby. Many people see these 'hornworms' and automatically kill them. I think that is so sad. I try very hard not to kill most things. I make exceptions for ticks and known pests. Not all 'hornworms' are bad and even if they do eat plants the plants will grow back. I promise you. I've had several batches of monarch caterpillars this year and just when I thought the butterflyweed was dead and gone it comes back! The relationship between caterpillars and their host plants must be a reciprocal one or both might die. For sure if a caterpillar killed every host plant it ate, then there would be no more host plant foods and no more caterpillars. So please, do not be alarmed when your plants disappear. They will rebound. Even tomato plants with hornworms on them will rebound depending on the time of the season. If you must 'save' your plant from hornworms, please move the caterpillar to a more appropriate plant or, better yet, plant extras for the caterpillars. Hornworms make a terrible squeal when killed and I'd love to spare you from hearing it!

I came back from a mini trip and the first thing I noticed was my sweet bay magnolia; which is in a very prominent position out front; was nearly defoliated! Sweet bays are semi evergreen here in most of Tennessee, and I had been nurturing this one for over a year. It is doing very well now so all of the leaves being gone-eaten-was quite noticeable to me. I looked closely and I discovered the culprits! These two caterpillars are some type of swallowtail. I think perhaps Eastern Tiger Swallowtail but I am not sure. These are fairly common caterpillars though I have never seen them before. We do have tons of swallowtail butterflies here though and I love them. These swallowtail cats have what appear to be false eyes-can you see the one eye above? The false eyes help to scare off predators.

This is the same type of caterpillar but an earlier instar. It is disguised to look like bird poop with the cream colored blotch on its back. How cool is that? 

Many folks bring caterpillars into enclosures to watch the process of them turning into a chrysalis and then hatching out as a butterfly. I have done this in the past but did not bring any of these caterpillars in to do so this year. I am really not sure how to do it completely properly and prefer to let nature do the work here....

in the garden.....enjoying the baby butterflies.

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Hornworm

BY SKEETER

 I showed you my front porch last week. In that posting, I also showed you my two pots of coleus, pentas and creeping jenny plants. Here you see one of those plants after I had pruned the coleus a bit. It had become top heavy and fell over during a windy storm here in my GEORGIA GARDENS.

 24 hours later, here is the same plant! Yep something has eaten the Pentas plant out of both arrangements! 

 At first, I thought the deer or bunny had been in the front porch area but found that odd. I have never seen either of them on the brick work in the 15 years we have lived here. Upon closer inspection, I found the culprit. Two huge Hornworms! Look at their size compared to my finger.

 One is in the brownish color with large spots along the side. Nope, those are not big eyes but rather spots to fool predators. These are not the tomato or tobacco type hornworms as they have white V shaped lines and these do not. Click HERE and you will see the tomato type hornworm on my tomatoes from 2013.

Here you see the green one. Aren't they just the neatest looking caterpillars ever? Tina, I bet your chickens would call them a treat.

I do believe these things will soon morph into Sphinx Months if not, then some sort of moth. I find them most interesting and beautiful. Yep, I find some creepy crawlies beautiful. They have not touched anything else in the mixed pot. I will leave them be and let nature takes it course with my HORNWORMS, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Pest Worm/Caterpillar

BY SKEETER

 My GEORGIA GARDEN has seen some Pest's lately. I must say even a pest, this Pack Saddle Worm/Caterpillar is one cool looking critter!

 Look but DONT TOUCH as this is a cat with a bite! Bite in the form of a painful sting from those fuzzy little hairs you see. Also this guy has fake eyes on his rump as you see in this pic.

 Here, you see the face and mouth munching on my Banana Tree. Isn't this a cool looking critter? We just let it enjoy the tree for a couple days then it went on its merry way.

 What is the Saint doing to his Bald Cypress Tree with that long pole and brush?

 He is pulling out Tent Worm nests!

 At this stage, they do not look like Tent Worms. Click HERE to see more on Tent Worms. Maybe these are fuzzy baby's.

 Our Tomatoes are long gone and were most enjoyed by us this summer. As they began to fizzle out, we spotted this Horn Worm. We found it neat how this critter holds onto the stem of the tomato plant.

 The worm munched on this and another small and not so pretty tomatoes for several days. 

 Not to be confused with Raspberry's but what we assume to be Hornworm poop! Ewwwwww.... See the worm has moved onto another mater in the background.

 Now comes a mystery Pest for us. Here you see the Trolling Motor on our boat. Look at the White dots to the left and right of the name brand.

 Zooming in you can see one of the holes better. This is where the Motor Cover is screwed onto the unit.

Once we break the white coating, a nest is revealed.

 And a Pupa falls out! These things will nest in any small hole they can find. We find them in just about every screw hole on our boat! We have no idea what they are but they can wreak havoc on machines such as Weed Whackers, Lawn Mowers, etc. We once discovered one on the boat motor clogging up the water out take! The Saint had to jump into the lake and remove it from the motor before it over heated and killed our motor! Does anyone know what these things can be? We are baffled and do NOT take kindly to these PEST WORM/CATERPILLARS, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

The Genista Broom Moth Caterpillar Eating Baptisia

 To those of you viewing this post under a 'Networked blog' url it is an illegal and pirated post. The correct url should say tinaramsey in the url. Please report the pirated version here. Thanks.

Pests in the garden can be a problem and they are a very big problem two days before a big garden tour. A very good preventative for pests, or at least a quick fix is to walk your gardens and make sure you are watching for signs of pests. In my case I honestly missed the signs of an infestation of the genista broom moth larve on my baptisia. Let me explain. I had noticed a few weeks ago that this particular baptisia was being eaten. I checked for pests but did not see any and did not particularly worry since this baptisia was the exact same one that was bothered by the automeris moth larve last summer. Not checking further was the wrong answer. I should've checked under the leaves for the eggs of the genista broom moth caterpillar. Had I done so I may have prevented the decimation to my baptisia. I only show you one of the baptisia but a total of five baptisia were attacked-only two small ones were saved and I am not so sure they too won't wind up with some of these pests.

Before I kill any bugs in my garden I always seek to identify them. I searched high and low on the web for help with this insect and even emailed the picture out for help but I had no luck identifying this larve until I posted a picture on my FB account and Freda of Defining Your Home and Garden posted a link to the identification of this pest. Thanks Freda for the fast identification! A local extension agent here in Tennessee also verified the identification and said I should get rid of these caterpillars soon.



I don't have insecticides here on a normal day to day basis and honestly, even if I did I'm not so sure I would immediately pull them out and spray. My option upon identifying these caterpillars was to handpick them all off from the baptisias. Fortunately I had two teens here who were quickly enlisted to help out with the picking. The caterpillars went in a bucket of plain water to drown. There were too many caterpillars to take care of in this way so as soon as I was able to I went to the Co-Op and purchased some concentrated bacillus thuringeiensis (BT). This was the day before the garden tour. I quickly mixed up the BT in the recommended dosage in a spray bottle and sprayed away all of my baptisia. I am still checking daily for more caterpillars as more more and more hatch out and grow large enough for me to see and am finding more coming each day. I suspect I'll be systematically checking for these pests for the next few weeks. 


From what our extension agent said and what I have read online these moths are generally found further south and in Texas where broom is more common. Broom does grow here but it is not a normal plant for this region. Apparently the baptisia is a good host plant for the moth and a number of other flying insects to include both butterflies and moths. For some reason the moths like Tiger Gardens more than the butterflies do to lay their eggs. 


And how did the tour go? Well, not one person mentioned the above sad looking baptisia and the tour went wonderfully! I cut out all of the damage and removed the caterpillars by hand and while the baptisia was a shadow of its former self it will recover from the infestation....

in the garden....

P.S. This caterpillar does not appear to be the stinging kind. With the white prickly looking hairs I did not venture to test out my theory but I could not find where it is listed as a stinging caterpillar. It is best not to touch insects or wildlife at all unless you are sure they will not harm you. 



Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Caterpillar to Butterfly

BY SKEETER

A few weeks ago, I spotted many of these beautiful caterpillars in my Georgia Gardens.

I have never really noticed these caterpillars before but they seem to be every where. On the front porch, in the driveway and in the gardens. As if they had fallen out of the trees. Which I think they did as we had high winds the night before.

I snapped a picture of the one on the front porch and a few days later, discovered this in the spot where the caterpillar once stood. Hum, After a bit of research on the Internet, I think I might have had a Mourning Cloak Caterpillar and now a Chrysalis!

I found the Chrysalis to be interesting with its spiny cover.

I kept my eye on the Chrysalis and low and behold, I saw the butterfly resting by the shell! If only I had been lucky enough to see the butterfly emerge. Oh well, can't have it all...

I carefully placed the butterfly in a container for safe keeping over night. It was listless as if dead and I was sad. Upon further investigation, it was moving a slight bit as if not completely ready to take off. The following morning, I warmed it up with the Desk Light and it rewarded me with open wings! A few snapped pictures and I carefully took the open container into the gardens. The beautiful butterfly fluttered off high into the trees from the warmth of the sun shining on its beautiful colored body. I smiled like a proud mama watching her baby leave the nest! It was a thrilling moment for me. This was the first time I have ever seen a CATERPILLAR TO BUTTERFLY, In the Garden...  
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Another New Caterpillar-The Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillar

 I keep checking my tropical milkweed (my favorite) for monarch caterpillars but so far this summer has been a bust for butterfly larva. I am having great luck with moth larva though. The above caterpillar on the tropical milkweed happens to be caterpillar of the Milkweed Tussock Moth. This is one caterpillar I've never seen before.


The milkweed tussock moth caterpillar looks like a scary caterpillar but I could not find where it may be poisonous to humans-nonetheless I did not touch it. It is poisonous to predators and according the above source obtains the toxins from the milkweed. It's bright colors warn off predators. Go ahead and check this site because there is a nice picture of the moth. The moth has a black and orange striped body. The same colors as the caterpillar and the same colors as a monarch butterfly. Coincidence here? I don't think so. Insects that depend on milkweed as their host plants are very specialized insects and ones that can handle the toxins in the milkweed.


I have seen many monarchs flying around but no caterpillars yet. At least I now know why all of my tropical milkweed has been eaten to stubs....


in the garden....
 

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

The Pinks Residing in the Vegetable Garden and a Monarch Caterpillar or Two!

From In the Garden

I am not generally a pink type of person because I much prefer the bright and hot colors. The more saturated the color the better in my humble opinion. The one time pinks really are a pleasure is during the spring. After the hots of the tulips and daffodils have passed by I kind of want to give my eyes a rest and let the soft blues and pinks of spring come into play. However; I have one area at the western most point of my sword shaped vegetable garden that is full of pinks. This section of the garden that is less than five feet square has the hot bright pinks in the form of cleomes, soft and subtle pinks in the from of gladiolus, coneflowers, and Chinese indigo, and the somewhat fluorescent pink of an old fashioned phlox. The colors rock my world! I did not in any way plan this color scheme because, as regular readers of this blog know, I am a mix 'em up and shake 'em up kind of gardener and like gardens full of tons of different colors. Now I'm beginning to think a white border, a blue border, a yellow border....well, you get the idea.

Pictured above is the Chinese indigo (the tall airy shrub in the background), the cleomes in the center, and the phlox (the first time it has bloomed) in the foreground. The glads and coneflowers (barely visible in the back of the photo) are nearby but I could not fit them into the picture. If you'd like to see them check out July's Bloom Day post....

in the garden....

Do you have borders or gardens with shades of only one color in your garden?

A late addition to this post is a picture of one of my very first monarch caterpillars munching away on the Mexican/Tropical butterfly weed. It's not a pink in my garden but you'll forgive me if I cannot resist posting a picture of it. I found three cats and am just thrilled! If you don't grow this tropical milkweed run out and get some now if you want monarch caterpillars. It is easy to grow and looks awesome with no help from me-and comes back each year too...

in the garden...

From In the Garden

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Death to this Caterpillar or what?

By Skeeter

I spotted this funny looking caterpillar in my Georgia Garden yesterday while picking tomatoes. For some strange reason, blogger decided to rotate all these pictures from their posted spots. Hum...
Sorry for the poor quality of the photos. It was almost dark outside and I was lucky to get any pictures. See how large this caterpillar is compared to my finger?
I have seen this strange occurrence before but not sure if I saw it on a blog or not. I have seen it in my Garden many times though. This Green crawly with white guests, was on the tomato plant. I wonder, are the white things eggs on the caterpillar that will eat it or is this a mother caterpillar carrying her own eggs?
Does anyone know what is happening in these pictures? Is this DEATH TO THIS CATERPILLAR OR WHAT, In the Garden...

Note: Several Commenter's were able to identify the caterpillar as a Hornworm which feeds on tomato, potato and eggplant among other garden plants and veggies. The hornworm will turn into the Moth we all know as the Hummingbird, Sphinx or Hawk Moth. I like these moths so I feel a bit of sadness for the caterpillars death.

The cocoon on the caterpillar is from the Braconid Wasp. Click on the names for more information that I found interesting.

Thanks to the Blogging World for giving me this knowledge today!

Munching on Dill

By Skeeter


The Caterpillar in my Georgia Garden says,
"Hey, will you two make some room for me to have a nibble? Dill is my favorite treat and I am so happy that Tina gave Skeeter the seeds to grow!"

"Soon, I will be sleepy and take a little nap" "I will wake up to be a beautiful Black Swallowtail. I will move onto the Butterfly Bushes as they are a treat in this stage of my life. Besides, all the dill is gone so no more MUNCHING ON DILL, In the Garden..."

Metamorphosis

Finding parsley caterpillars (Black Swallowtails) in the garden is great fun for children and adults like. Even funner is capturing the caterpillars and placing them either in a shoe box or jar with ventilation. I chose to use a piece of window screen for ventilation for my caterpillar over this jar. The caterpillar was quite large when I captured him, and ate more parsley for about two more days then changed into a chrysalis. Within 10 days the butterfly had metamorphosed into the beautiful swallowtail you see above.

This butterfly was anxious to fly away, and that is just what I allowed it to do. Fly away little butterfly to make more caterpillars for another day.

in the garden....

Tomorrow is our Vegetable Garden Update. If you post on vegetables why not post on the 20th as well? Join Skeeter and I on a Veggie Garden Update Post on the 20th. No comments or back linking necessary. Hope to see all your veggies tomorrow.

Caterpillars and Beautyberry!

Beautyberry is a great little native shrub. The berries are the outstanding feature of this shrub, but that is about it. The berries are attractive to wildlife and are really all this great shrub needs to be welcomed in my garden. Birds, butterflies and moths all like beautyberry as well.
On a recent walk around the garden my friend Judie spotted three yellow woolly bear caterpillars all lined up on the beautyberry. Good catch Judie! I went back later with my camera and there were only two still lined up. The third was not far away but not in this picture.

I have never seen these caterpillars before and spent some time researching them. I believe they are the larvae of the Virginian Tiger Moth, Spilosoma virginica. The moth is actually quite pretty, though I haven't seen it. These larvae feed on a wide variety of low growing shrubby plants and they are welcomed to the beautyberry in my garden. I am looking forward to seeing the white moths with an interesting abdominal pattern in the future.

Has anyone ever seen these before?

in the garden....