Saturday, May 7, 2011

A Caterpillar?

Caterpillar or grub? Friend or foe?
I found a caterpillar where I didn’t expect it: on my oregano plant. My oregano plant was the one plant that survived last year’s ill fated herb garden. The mint is alive as well but  stunted and miserable. I think it needs shade but since it is with the oregano, which is doing great where it is, the mint will have to suffer. The oregano plant started to worry me because it seemed that the tips of the plant were getting dried up. Now I think it is the caterpillars fault. I found the caterpillar while I was harvesting some oregano. However, I’m a bit puzzled by it. I guessed it might be some kind of moth or garden pest. However, oregano is supposed to repel some of those. It was kind of a non-descript greenish-white inch worm looking thing with a round yellow head. My online search didn’t reveal much. The closest image match seems to be the light brown apple moth which is a notorious pest that has caused a quarantine in places. However, this caterpillar is supposed to have a green stripe which I didn’t notice on the caterpillar on my oregano plant. Also, I didn’t see the drastic leaf damage or webs on the leaves. The caterpillar also resembled some skipper caterpillars. I hope this is the case. However, skipper food plants are supposed to be mostly grasses. I guess I’ll keep an eye out for later instar changes. I guess it could also be some kind of beetle grub.

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