I don't know if this is a worm, bug, alien, or what. Can someone help me? It certainly has a huge appetite. I have several of them on the backs of the leaves of my Ipomoea acuminata. If I need to post this on another forum, please direct me. Thanks so much.
There's a moth caterpillar that looks very similar, the Crowned Slug Moth. Be careful, they sting.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/4504/
http://bugguide.net/node/view/25201
Thanks claypa. I'm going to go do some reading about them and see what I can find to stop their appetites. Thanks again.
Umm. You may wish to rethink this one, I believe that it is much more likely to be a larva of a tortoise beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae; subfamily Cassidinae) - see
http://tinyurl.com/lb4cbj and http://tinyurl.com/md2jmx for examples. These larvae feed preferentially on members of the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae), and often attach their excrement to the hind portion of their body as camouflage.
oops - I did wonder about the plant being an Ipomoea, not the usual host for those moths...
suunto, did you see this thread about scale insects, on a car??
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1007807/
suunto...that is definitely it. Thanks so much. You guys are just too good at this. I was convinced before except for the part you call excrement. I didn't know what it was then. Glad I know now. LOL! Thanks again for your help.
Thanks for the link, claypa - I replied to that post, stating that I think that those 'scales' actually may be fungal spores - see http://tinyurl.com/dlt2pw
