attack of the caterpillars

Mary discovered that something has been eating on her Azalea plants. The plants were being denuded of leaves. All that was left was little stumps that looked like little spikes.

This bush was once covered with lush leaves. Whatever happened to the plant, happened quickly. We looked and looked but couldn’t find anything that could have done this. Then we looked some more and found the culprit. Caterpillars! About two dozen of them. They just seemed to blend in with the plant stems.

Looks innocent enough except for having a full belly of azalea leaves. We picked them off of the plant and took them to the other side of the yard and turned them loose on some wild grape plants. I got to photograph this one on a piece of white paper. But he was camera shy and didn’t like to have his picture taken. How do I know that? Because he reared up on his legs ready for a fight. I can’t help but wonder what kind of butterfly that he will pupate into. Maybe Seaside or Villager might know. Any ideas?

Just look at him. He is ready to do battle. After the picture taking, he joined his buddies amongst the grape leaves. Just to think that someday this caterpillar will metamorphose into a beautiful butterfly. Actually there should be around two dozen butterflies fluttering around the yard. Have a good day and keep an eye out for the nature that is all around us. Viva Gaia. Lew