I am baffled.
I just cannot figure out what that caterpillar in the photo is. I have seen several very similar in my entomology books. I also looked it up in this amazing site but no luck.
I know this photo and the ones below, with captive insects in jars, probably make people think I am 12, but I know of no other way to be as sure as I possibly can be that I am not killing a beneficial or harmless bug. And so I go out every morning beetle and slugs hunting and every morning I wonder what cultures eat those slimy things...and should I contact them to ask for a recipe? Seriously, if we could eat those things we'd save ourselves a pretty penny in groceries.
For those squirming at the mere thought of slugs on your dinner plate...if you ever had escargot (glorified snails), shrimp, lobster or any other form of mollusk...well, then you'd probably understand where I am coming from. I need to make one thing clear: my mouth does not water at the sight of those little monsters.
2 comments:
Looks like a tomato hornworm to me, or a close relative.
This may help:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/193
What kind of plant was it on?
Hi Membracid, thank you so much for your superhuman vision capabilities.
I cannot believe I missed that one! Last summer I had those by the ton, I put them in a bowl for the birds and they had a feast. I guess what threw me off this time is that this one was so tiny compared with the ones I had last year...like a 1/4 their size.
The plant it was on is a sweet almond bush (Aloysia virgata) which usually gets no pests at all...but somehow this year the bad bugs are loving it.
Anyhow, thank you SO much for stopping by...I went to your blog and I found it entertaining and very helpful, I think us gardeners truly need to work on better understanding our soil and our bugs...after all the veg and pretty flowers we see are only a fraction of what goes on to produce them, no? ☺
Would it be okay for me to add your blog to my blog roll? Let me know when you get a chance.
Thanks!
GF
Post a Comment