Ohhhhhhhh, happy day. I've been waiting for two years to find Giant Swallowtail caterpillars munching on our Wafer Ash Trees (also known as Hop Trees). These trees were some of the very first plants we chose for our wildlife habitat, and I've been waiting and waiting for the those big, gorgeous butterflies to find them. Time and again over the past two years I searched, getting my hopes up when noting the occasional bird poop on the foliage, only to discover it was REAL bird poop. But look what I found today! Real bird poop caterpillars!
Aren't they beautiful?!!! Yes, and gross, too. I'm completely convinced that these caterpillars have the best camouflage of any creature in the world.
Not so much "camouflage," though -- they really are quite out in the open, saying "Here we are!" But they sure don't look like anything I'd want to eat if I were a bird. We actually found three of them. I hope, I hope... that I'll get to watch them through chrysalis and butterfly stage. FYI, they also like lemon trees, lime trees, and other citrus trees, so if you don't have Wafer Ash, look for them on your citrus trees.
And whoa -- another discovery! We have ripe Roma tomatoes! It's official -- I have bird poop AND I'm a successful tomato gardener!
Happy, happy day.
yay for caterpillars!!! i love it!
we just started harvesting tomatoes as well...it's been a good year so far for our plants, lots of green maters on the stalks, so even if the weather spikes i think i can call this season successful...at least compared to last where we got 2 tomatoes total..;)
Thank you so much for this post. I just saw them this morning on my orange tree and did not know what they were. I can't wait!!!!!
Yes, they love citrus! I've been eagerly watching my citrus trees, too, but the Wafer Ash was the chosen plant in my yard, at least for now.
The caterpillar is amazing. You're right: there's nothing there that would make me smack my lips with hunger.
Meredith I'm green with envy! For the past several years a single swallowtail has graced my garden. Haven't seen it yet this year. It is still cold outside, so maybe if we finally warm up, this is suppose to be a desert climate. Be sure to share the progress!
Joy, too funny!
Meredehuit, I hope this might be the year for you! I will do my best to report the progress. I decided to rescue the caterpillars today and house them in a shelter. Something killed one of the ones I took pictures of yesterday, and I don't want that to happen to the other two!
LOL! Who'd have thought one could get excited about bird poop. :) And it really DOES look like bird poop!
OK Ill show greater respect for bird poop in the future - didn't know it could hide such a treasure! :)
I just found one on my Meyer lemon tree today. I new the moment I saw it that this was a special discovery. My oldest stepson will be excited!!!
Yay! I know you'll enjoy watching it grow. They don't look as much like bird boop as they get bigger, though. Pretty interesting.
I had three of these caterpillars on my citrus tree. They have left their chrysalide as butterfly and flew away about a week ago. It seems as though one has returned today! Do you know if they return to where they transformed regularly?
I just discovered these on my lemon tree. Never seen anything like them before. I thought they were dead and rotting but then watched as one was busy munching away. So glad I found this site to see what they are and am also anxious to watch the transformation process. This morning there is an itty bitty one among the large ones.
I suddenly have these and another type of caterpiller, Sphinx Moth I believe, eating my plants. So exciting.
We're in Tucson, Arizona so guess we get them later than in other locations.
I just happened upon your sight as I was looking online as what to do with the many caterpillars on my trees. I have three lemon trees. Two trees are pretty big and are being nursed back to health. After purchasing them, I repotted them and they went through transplant shock for like a month and then started to grow. The two largest ones are about 7-8 feet tall and the smallest one is about 2 feet tall. All three have these caterpillars (which I suppose turns into big green caterpillars).
They have been munching away on all three trees. I don't know what to do about them. Three days ago, I plucked 15 off and today I plucked off 20. This morning I saw a butterfly on one of the biggest trees. It was black and yellow. I also see black specks on the leaves.
Should I allow them to continue to munch away? Will it destroy my trees? Do I need these caterpillars for any particular reason?
By the way, I am located in the South of Yemen ;)
Thank you and kind regards
Hi, Shyla. Plants in general will always have some sort of bug that munch on their leaves, and the plants are remarkably resilient. After all, plants and the animals that depend on them have evolved side by side in time. I've seen caterpillars eat some perennials literally to the ground, and the plant comes right back. With trees, there are usually plenty of leaves to support both the trees and the caterpillars, so unless you are really concerned, I'd leave the caterpillars alone and give them a chance to become butterflies (and often the butterflies that munch on citrus as caterpillars are GORGEOUS). The trees will likely be ok, unless you still feel that they are in shock and need some more protection until they are stronger. Often the plant will actually respond to foliage damage by strengthening its roots and putting out denser foliage. The caterpillars might be actually good for your plant's health.
Nature typically has its own way to keep caterpillars from being too plentiful -- birds, for example, might just take care of the overpopulation, and hornets and wasps might use the caterpillars to feed their young. I've found that I actually have to protect certain caterpillar species in my yard and put them in a net tent with their favorite leaves just to help them get to chrysalis stage before the predators get them. This is just while my plants are more sparse -- later, when the plants are bigger, the caterpillars will be less noticeable to would-be munchers. Good luck!