green caterpillars

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motts1 south central, WI(Zone 5a) May 18, 2001

Have small (up to an inch) worms that regularly eat my columbine leaves-stripping down to stems, found them yesterday on my irreplaceable light yellow azalea!!!! Manually sent about 100 to that great mulch in the sky, but not before they stripped 1/4 of the leaves and started on the flowers. I resorted to Ortho-which I do not want to use--I will start treating with Safer's for systemic-but does anyone know what these critters are and a permanent solution?

Post #5022
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Horseshoe Efland, NC(Zone 7a) May 18, 2001

Marcia...why not just use BT? Very safe in the garden (altho some of us are concerned that it will also kill the larva of the Swallowtail butterfly, which is now considered threatened. However, in this case you should be fine...Swallowtails tend to go for plants in the Umbel family for their egglaying purposes). BT is available commercially as Dipel (powder form) and as Thuricide (liquid form). It only affects caterpillars and has no secondary effect on birds that may eat the infected caterpillar.

Post #75444
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poppysue Westbrook, ME(Zone 5a) May 19, 2001

I've had these nasties on my columbine too. Somebody told me they're the larvae to a sawfly. They'll munch the foliage until it's nothing but a skeleton. They tend to go more for the fancy hybrid columbines rather than the old fashioned ones. If I see them I immediately squish them - even if I have to pluck some of the leaves from the plant. I've also used BT with good results but have to make sure to spray the underside of the leaves where they hide and spray a couple times a week during their season as they have several generations.

The good thing is I've never lost a plant from them. Plants that are severely damaged can be cut back and they'll quickly put out new growth from the roots.

Post #75510
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