CLOSED: More caterpillars on Maryland brugmansia in fall

sallyg Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b) Oct 16, 2009

In this pic there's a moth which may have just come out of the cocoon below it. Then there's a green caterpillar with his head through the leaf. The green guy has been eating the heck out of the brug since I brought it inside.

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sallyg Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b) Oct 16, 2009

Then on another leaf I found this guy.
There were lots of holes in the middles of the leaves but I hadn't found any critters. I thought caterpillars would eat from the edge anyway.
So any ideas on those guys?

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themoonhowl Prairieville, LA(Zone 9a) Oct 16, 2009

Gee, Sally, you have a fair assortment of critters going there. The critter at the top looks more like a Hag moth larva than an adult moth. Check out the link in this thread,
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1046267/

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Oct 16, 2009

The moth appears to be an adult cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) - see http://tinyurl.com/yg8dnpz; however, the caterpillar beneath it looks more like a tobacco budworm Heliothis virescens - see http://tinyurl.com/yg5d6s3 for an example. These caterpillars are extremely variable in appearance. The second caterpillar could be a yellow-striped armyworm (Spodoptera ornithogalli) - see http://tinyurl.com/ylrequh

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sallyg Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b) Oct 18, 2009

Thank you--I have had tobacco budworms, but didn't know they could be green.
I brought the two brugs inside and tonight found ANOTHER cat! Won't bother with it, a medium-orange fuzzy thing. Just funny how there are so many different ones visiting the brug

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