Caterpillar day

Every day I go out to inspect my garden multiple times a day. Morning, mid morning, mid day, and always in the evening. Yesterday about mid day I was standing out there looking at things and listening and I heard this faint sound of something dropping on to paper.

I always put cardboard on area I want to keep the weeds down. I usually cover it with mulch but my newest cardboard only went down a couple of days ago. That's where I heard that sound.

When I inspected closer I noticed what looked like insect poop. You know it once you've seen it and I've seen plenty. I followed it up and found, hidden underneath the potato leaves, these lovely white caterpillars.

As I turned over every leaf I found more than 2 dozen of these newly hatched fur-bugs. They were defoliating my potatoes so I pulled them off and put them in my insect hatchery.

Today they were happy to be fed. Many caterpillars eat only the plant they hatch on, such as the monarch caterpillar. Some of these, I fear, only want my potatoes, while the tan colored ones did not seem to mind being fed poplar leaves from a young seedling I had.

I thought the kids would enjoy and learn from watching caterpillars form the chrysalis then hatch in a couple of weeks. When food runs low they will make their cocoon. It should take 2-3 weeks after that for them to emerge. I hope I am here to see some of them hatch and fly away.