One of the questions I am often asked is "how do i know if there are caterpillars in my garden?" I have a few tips for determining that. Have you seen any butterflies land on your host plants recently? If so and the butterflies laid eggs, they should hatch in about a week. So that is a good time to check your plants for caterpillars. Now the baby caterpillars will be very tiny so you will have to look very carefully UNDER the leaves of your host plants. This is where the eggs are laid. For those of us with bad eyes, including yours truly, you can begin your search two weeks later and the caterpillars will be much bigger. You should look under leaves that have holes and missing parts. This means they are mostly likely being eaten by caterpillars and they will be nearby. One last tip is if you see caterpillar frass (that is a fancy word for poop), the caterpillars are definitely present.
I saw some Monarchs lay eggs in my Milkweed patch during the last Fourth of July Weekend (about 10 days ago). Those eggs have hatched and our garden is full of caterpillars right now.
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| Note the holes and chewed appearance of the Milkweed leaves |
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| Monarch caterpillar eating Milkweed leaves |
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| Don't forget to look under the leaves! |
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| There is some frass in the center of the plant - to the left of the top caterpillar. |
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