The weather is windy and warm.
We could do with frost.
I’m trying not to feel murderous, violent, cruel or vindictive but my garden is crawling with unwelcome wild-life.
Apart from an almost fully grown (but dead) rat which has materialised on the path over night, there are speed-powered, bright green, saw-fly-type caterpillary things racing all over the place.
The chocolate mint has been chewed into a skeleton and, just as whatever it is that has been mining the rainbow chard all summer has stopped munching, something else has taken over and, whatever that is, it is not a delicate creature. The holes it's making in the leaves are almost big enough for a cat to stick its head through.
On investigation, I find a sluggish great caterpillar in residence, a languidly curved and unpleasantly puffy half-moon, pale green with yellow chevrons. My hand goes out. Eviction . . . eviction . . . eviction. (Dalek style!) Reluctantly, I withdraw it - empty. One day, I assume, it will turn into a moth. (The caterpillar, that is. Not my hand.)
Would I not be interested to have a moth in the garden? I would. Of course I would. . . . But it’s already very fat and the chard is vanishing fast and . . . well just how large is its extended family?
* * *
That was yesterday. (December 8th 2011)
What now? (December 9th 2011)
And now . . . ? I went to look again - but it had gone.
Another has taken its place. Or . . . maybe it just looks different when it is stretched instead of curled . . . but this is what I saw . . .
* * *
When I know what it is - I'll write a caption for the photo.
4 comments:
Ah ha. Just wait till they hear the weather forecast. That'll show 'em.
What are you going to do?
I would vote chard over moth.
Chard vs butterfly would be trickier. :-)
Dead rat...not cute.
David/ :-)
I wonder why you need to identify it, before squashing it between forefinger and thumb?
Are you writing out a 'Death Certificate'? (Only joking)
I shall go away and dig into my book called 'Pests & Diseases'.
Will report back. :)
I have to admit to being a bit stumped. You see, I'm not sure whether chard is a brassicca or not? Or is it a root veggie from the beetroot family?
Caterpillars are choosy you know. A root veggie gobbler would not attack a leafy cabbage, and vica versa.
Having looked at hundreds of caterpillars I'm at a loss.
Have you tried celery? :)
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