How to Spot a Caterpillar

Patty was doing some yard work when she noticed these little black bits. Frass, aka caterpillar poop.

Clue #1.

Note also the leaf scraps. Warning, messy eaters above.

Then she looked for the munched upon leaves.

Clue #2.

One you find the food plant it is just a matter of looking leaf by leaf until you find the critter responsible. In this case the food plant is Baptisia australis, False Blue Indigo.

And that's it. Just three steps. Find poop and bite marks and then spot the caterpillar. Easy-peasy.

Or as it were in this case, critters. Note the frass pellets on the leaf at the lower center, and the size relative to the pooper. Imagine if your poop was that big (I don't want to know!).

Also note the leafless stalks. Munch, munch munch.

(We're gonna need a caterpillar fence ...)

Patty and I spotted six frass machines munching away.

Soon enough they'll begin their transmogrification to Io moths. A magical transformation indeed.