I am finding these pink caterpillars in my vine bed, munching away on hyacinth bean seedpods. I have never seen a pink caterpillar. What butterfly will this become?
Thanks,
Donna
What will I be when I grow up?
Is it a even caterpillar?
Proper color for a critter on a hyacinth bean. Must be the week for pink, Foridian posted a cluster of pink apple snail eggs... the eggs were pink, don't know what color the snail is. heehee
Looks to be a caterpiller from its markings. Keep track. We'll learn... love learning things on DG
I've done very limited reading, so far .. but have seen a few of these small sized 'catepillar' similarities .. referred to, as some type of catepillar 'slug' !
Also of note ... I've found some relatively small green ones .. on the INside of my butter bean pods too!!! Eating the beans !!!! Think what ever the varmint is - lays its eggs on the bean pods, and the eggs hatch and eat into the shell .. to consume the beans. And, certainly canNOT be a 'good' thing tho' ... ! ! !
I could only imagine that yours (in your pic) .. is doing the very same thing ...
One other pic ... you can see the 'hole' in the pod ...
Floridian, kennedyh where are you?
Sorry, I can't help with these ones
It looks very similar to the Holly Blue cat......but not a perfect match
If it is, it is a beauty:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/401.shtml
Well golly! What a wonderful response!
Magpye, you are right, there are many pods with holes like yours. And the seedpod that it is sitting on is now riddled with holes as well. It seems content to keep munching away on this one, I checked tonight & it is still there. It very much resembles your picture, Rikerbear, and actually, your picture looks more like him then MINE does. I tried to take pics & could not get a clear shot, so then I scanned it which was better then the pics, but did not show up the little hairs or the ridges that show up in yours. But they are there. They are like rings that fit into themselves, does that make sense? When he pokes out his head, his face is brown & tiny. But other then that, I cannot see any difference from your pic. He is under an inch long, but that could change depending on his age.
I have never seen any blue butterflies, but that means nothing. I am finally getting butterflies and they are ones I have not seen here before, so it is entirely possible that they came while I was not watching. ;~)
the link Imway posted says the holly blue cat has green caterpillars & feeds on holly & Ivy leaves. But my critter only seems to like seedpods.
So all we have to do is find a caterpillar that looks exactly like rikers pic, that eats seedpods, and we'll have a match! LOL
Thanks everyone,
I have complete confidence that my mystery will get solved. Even if I have to put this little guy in a jar & see what he becomes, much as I don't want to do that.
Thanks and I look forward to more posts,
Donna
Be sure you put air holes in the jar lid and give him/her some beans to munch on. Keep you camera handy and keep us informed as it develops into a butterfly!
John
I read the same thing Pudgy regarding the cats of the Holly Blue being green, but than the pic I found was the one I posted....and unless I'm color blind it looks pretty pink to me :-0
Please keep us all posted as to what this cutie pie turns into.
Ah Ha! The web site also says that they change color from green to pinkish purple prior to pupation..............
http://www.butterflyireland.com/HollyBlueCaterpillar.htm
Okay guys ... for safety sake here ...
So, I need to take care of these wee lil vermin crawlies then ?
Especially if I desire to see any purtee lil blue flutterbyes ??
Yup.
Munched holy leaves are the price one must pay to have pretty butterflies and moths in your garden.
The price is reasonable. :-)
I think so too :-)
My 'new thing learned today'. you are all so good at this.
Man, if I'da seen than thing (first pic), I'da sure thought "GRUB" and -- smooshed it!
Several on that neat site rikerbear gave do not look like anything I ever would have considered a caterpillar! I'm with Blooms on learning something here today!
~'spin!~
Great site, Rikerbear. I added it to my favorites. So then I guess I will go out tomorrow & see if pinky the blue is still on her bean & scoop her up. I will assume that if she is gone, then it was not meant to be. LOL
Thank you so much everyone,
Donna
Glad I could help :-) Pls let us know how 'Pinky the Blue' makes out................... LOL
If it is a holly blue, it will be gorgeous!
http://www.butterflygarden.co.uk/butterflies/2004pages/hb_6047.htm
-seedpicker_TX
Wow! That one is actually on a holly. Looks like little hairs on the wing margins? I've even thought about doing something like this:
http://www.lucina.freeserve.co.uk/
Old retired guys get a second chance at being a kid again!
Well,
a bit of bad news. Pinky the Blue is missing. The pod that I put her on yesterday is munched a bit more but she is nowhere to be seen. So either she became a birds meal or she is on the move.
Donna
Maybe she gound a nice quiet place to 'transform'.....look for pretty blue butterflies later in the season
John, that sounds like a fun project. Now you just have to find a caterpillar to study :-) Let us know if you do decide to take on this science project. I'm sure we'd all be thrilled to watch with you. :-)
-Julie