Caterpillars
Posted by new-veg-head on Aug 11, 2007 · Member since Jun 2012 · 22 posts
There are some little green caterpillars on the underside of some of the basil that i just picked. They are just stuck there surrounded by a see-through yet dense looking web. I am not sure if they are dead and caught by a spider...or if these are in their "cucoons" i poked one of them and it didnt move...would a caterpillar move in its cacoon? Is it in some sort of deep hybernation? WHAT DO I DO WITH THEM? Also i am pretty sure i saw little caterpillar egss on some of the leaves (i didnt pick these).
Ok, so i was just checking the other leaves for more caterpillars and i looked over at the one i set on the counter, and it moved! So now i know they are alive and must be in their cacoons then, right? I want to put them back outside or something, but they might get eaten by ants or birds...and i dont know what to do!
Ah I wish I knew what to do...what if you put them on one of your house plants or something until they grow out so you can put them outside? :-\
i wish i had a suitable plant, i mean, i guess i do. not sure if my mom would like it. Maybe i should just put them back where i found them? try to hide them in one of the other plants? I mean...caterpillars have to face these dangers in the wild everytime they go into cacoon, and they must be able to survive that whole time without being eaten or else there wouldnt be any left...So maybe I will just put it back where i found it, or hide it in the oregano plant...
Yeahhhh, i mean i guess since they were already out there to begin with...
It sounds like they are in the process of 'building' their cocoon. When they are finished it will look something like a small cotton ball. I would try putting them back in the same vicinity you found them maybe under a more protectice plant since the leaves they were on will shrivel. that's about all the help I can offer.
:) Caterpillars are now safely hidden in my tomato plant! Thanks guys!