The fiddlewood caterpillars (not their real common name, but since they don’t seem to have a common name I’m calling them that) I discovered the other day haven’t done very well in captivity. I’ve had them in a plastic jar for a couple of days but they haven’t grown at all—still the same 10 mm long as two days ago. Their brothers and sisters that I missed, though, and found two days later on the original shrub, are a bit more robust—already 15 mm long and quite active. I’ve removed those caterpillars and the leaves they were on, and we’ll see if they fare any better than their brethren.
Here are a couple of shots of these new beasts in situ, before I removed them:
I’m hoping I can keep ahead of this pestilent population so I can have at most one or two moths and a healthy young tree. I’m dreaming, I’m sure…