this is eating on my Dill and it is not a Black Swallowtail
edited to say it reminds me of a skipper cat
This message was edited Jun 1, 2006 10:25 PM
Cat ID please
OK, I asked hubby. The closest he can get to an ID on your cat is it's a Spodoptera sp., he thinks it is a southern armyworm--Spodoptera eridania.
Here's a link to a pic:
http://fciig.ifas.ufl.edu/images/i1sarmy.jpg
and a link to the info that describes the southern armyworm (you'll have to scroll down to the southern armyworm section):
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG161
He says what complicates things is that in each larval stage the cat looks a bit different and it makes correct ID hard. If you want to keep the cat, let it pupate and get a pic of the adult winged creature once it emerges, he can get you a more positive ID on the adult. ;-) What puzzles him the most is that it is on your dill. Not a host plant for it.
Anyway, hope this helps. You might try a google search on southern armyworm and/or its scientific name above and find an exact pic that matches your cat.
thanks Hill. I couldn't find it today. It was there for 4 days
Donna, was it actually eating the dill or just "on it"? Maybe it was just going thru an instar if it wasn't eating it.
I don't have enough dill to share with armyworms! I've got quite a bit but the BST's have discovered it all and are doing their best to devour it. I don't want to share my zinnias with them either. Next time do what I'm going to do and give it to your neighbors. ;)
it was actually eating it. Wow do I have the BST too. The first batch ate half my dill. now those have hatched and I know I watched them lay 100 eggs in a few days. I sent Trish home with all the cats I had since her dill is about 5' tall compared to mine being chewing down to about 1 1/2' tall. I still have lots of eggs to hatch
Her dill is 5' tall?! WOW! That must be the "mammoth" kind! Mine are only about 12-18 inches, so this is my problem with too many cats on the dill!
My BST's are also laying on my Rue, which is rarely used by them. I think they know when there is enough food to lay more eggs or if there are too many mouths already and to move on. Weird!