Last year I planted a large mandevilla in a pot on the side of my house. Its cheery pink flowers and glossy green leaves were a welcome break on a long windowless stucco wall. It looked pretty glorious for several months. Then I noticed a couple orange caterpillars – with spikes! – nibbling away on a few leaves. Eh, I thought, what can a few caterpillars do? And they are kind of freaky looking so I’d rather not deal with them. And maybe they turn into glorious butterflies?
You can probably guess what happened. It turns out, if I do nothing, the caterpillars do go away, but only after they’ve denuded my poor plant of leaves. I was left with a very sad-looking plant that needed to be replaced, and there were no new lovely butterflies flitting around the remnants.
A new year, a new fabulous mandevilla purchased and planted. This year, when I spotted the critters, I finally did some research and listened to experts. These guys do not turn into butterflies. They turn into polka-dot wasp moths, which are very distinctive-looking day fliers. You can get a rash if you touch them with your bare hands. Some find these moths beautiful (their wasp-like bodies are blue). But for me, on came the rubber gloves, and I spent a rather icky 5 minutes handpicking the caterpillars off. Should I change plantings in the future? Maybe. Should I have consulted someone last year or done some research before losing an entire plant, and spending more money replacing it? Definitely.
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