Ok,I have spicebush...where my Spicebush Swallowtails. I need to cultivate my cat watching patience.
P
Time for Spicebush Swallowtails?
I bet it's any day now!
Been raining for two days...haven't been able to check.
P
OH boy we had some heavy rain yesterday evening Peggy.. Glad your getting some too. I am ready and waiting for SBSTs too!
:-D
Hi Ladies!
I'm glad you started this thread. I have someone on my Spicebush but from all my research he doesn't look to be a SWT. Hmmmmm.....
Take us a pic asalfa.. we will help ya find out who it is...:-)
Deb
asafla,
luck you...somethings munching your speicebush. I haven't had any takers yets.
Deb,
glad for the rain. I was beinginning to thinking we were headed into another dry year.
P
o.k. Ladies! Here's your challenge! :) On my Spicebush...
~Adrienne
And eggs...
I'm waiting for my spicebush cats also. Seems like they showed up in May last year, but I could be wrong. Don't know what that cat is, but I agree it isn't the SST.
Adrienne, Which Spicebush do you have?
Deb,
I have Lindera benzoin.
Reason I asked is bc some cats will eat many different kinds of plants, and if they are gregarious, (laid in groups which stay together until the last instar), they can devour a plant and none is left for the solitary cats that use only 1 or few hosts. If it were me I would move them as soon as I know what they eat, and save the Lindera benzoin exclusivly for the SBST.
I can't tell what your little green cat is, but it looks a lot like some I get that will eat almost anything green.
Yours looks definatly like some sort of moth by the pics, but as I said, it is hard for me to tell. You might want to make a post in the Bug ID forum and see if you get any nibbles there.
Deb
I definitely had the SSTs at almost maximum capacity last year. The reason it didn't exceed capacity for the plants is because I knew pretty much when I had enough cats to about finish off the foliage on my 3 spicebushes and put temporary screened cages over them...to keep the butterflies from laying more eggs, you know. Better that, I thought, than having starving cats. I didn't want to buy more spicebush plants after that third one I bought last year and there is no wild host plants that grow in the area I could "borrow" leaves from. We'll just have to wait and see what happens this year.
Oh I hear that Linda!
I remember that it was so cool! And you were right to cover the plants. Excellent job!
:-D
I looked in my caterpillar book but didn't see anything that resembled your cat.
Somethings eating on my paw-paws but not my spicebushes.
My bristly robina bloomed heavy this year so I hoped to collect some seeds but something has eaten every last bloom again this year.
P
I believe Zebra Swallowtails like Pawpaw as a host plant.
See this link for a photo of the caterpillar:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/3715
Oooooooooooooh! If that is so, I am soooooooooo jealous of you!! I have a little itty bitty Pawpaw, but they are slow growers, so it's going to be a very long time for me to have a sizeable host plant!
If you find out what they are, ya just gotta raise a few and document it with photos for us! :-)
becky,
my paw-paw's are about 4-5 yrs old. Not real tall yet and still in pots until hub's get the water fix on the side yard where I want to plant them.
I'll get pictures as soon as I find them.
P