Diane and I were just weeding, cutting and cleaning up all over the garden. I headed into the garden shed to water the seedlings and to plant a few more things. When I noticed the Lilikoi plant was sending runners inside the shed.
So with gentle hands, I was moving the runners back onto the main plant, making sure I don't bend and snap them. Thats when I noticed this!
My 1st instinct was to smash it! Then I thought I better take a picture to find out what it was. After I had carefully taken a few photos, I took this caterpillar off of the plant then sealed him up in a plastic container. With that done, I did some searching online.
Some of the first results came back as a stinging nettle. yikes! I read they had a bunch out here in a nursery in Mililani. But our orange and black friend didn't match the Nettle descriptions.
So more searching...
Here we go... from the http://hawaiinaturejournal.weebly.com web site, I found that we had a Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar. The black and orange colors, along with the spikes are a defense. Yet the spikes are soft and non-poisonous. *WHEW!*
So, since this guy just eats lilikoi plants, and all I see is one, and a whole lotta plant. Diane and I figured we would let him eat his fill. Besides, we are hoping he will visit us as a butterfly and help pollinate our flowers and in turn produce fruit.
A Gulf Fritillary sipping nectar. Photo: Jeanne Lindgren
No comments:
Post a Comment