Caterpillars in the garden can be good and bad
As gardeners, we have a classic “love/hate” relationship with caterpillars.
Caterpillars are defined as the larval or immature stage of the lifecycle of moths and butterflies belonging to the scientific order “Lepidoptera.”
Often, you will hear the term “worm” used generally. It could mean anything from earthworms to the larvae of sawflies and other insects. When we use the word caterpillar, the term correctly designates the larvae of moths and butterflies.
Oh, moths and butterflies — the things that gardeners’ dreams are made of ! There is almost no way to explain the way a whisper of butterfly wings in the garden makes one feel. Or the wonder you experience if you have ever been lucky enough to see hundreds of monarchs feeding or resting together.
Butterflies and other pollinators are attracted to garden plants by their nectar. Nectar is a fluid that is produced by flowers, is rich in glucose (sugar), and is often used by insects and some animals as a source of energy. While insects or animals are feeding on the nectar, they are also moving pollen from flower to flower, which causes pollen transfer and pollination to occur.
Most gardeners plant nectar plants
to attract the adult Lepidoptera. It is easy to do, and these plants are often ones we already love.
My first experience with gardening and butterflies was as a 5-year-old when my mother let me plant my own little zinnia garden with her help. Today, I grow zinnias every year, and they still make me as happy as they did when I was a child. They are so easy to grow and will even reseed if you let them.
I always grow more parsley, fennel and dill than I can use in my kitchen so I can feed and attract the larvae of the gorgeous black swallowtail, which is our state butterfly.
Including the native milkweeds as caterpillar “food” for the monarchs, will help them sustain themselves as they travel north in spring and south in fall right through the middle of our state every year.
There are so many plants to consider adding for the Lepidoptera. An excellent fact sheet to help you find out about all kinds of plants to attract these lovelies is called “Landscaping to Attract Butterflies and Moths” and can be found at osufacts.okstate.edu.
Also, please visit the Oklahoma County Master Gardeners’ “Butterfly Booth” located in the Oklahoma Expo Hall during the Oklahoma State Fair. They will have a great educational demo and information about favorite food sources for our Lepidoptera friends. Kids will especially enjoy seeing the larvae, cocoons and adult Lepidoptera.
So, what’s to hate? Unfortunately, the larval stage of moths and butterflies we call caterpillars are also voracious leaf chewers and are often considered pests, like cabbage worms and bagworms. Noting current social media, this can become quite controversial if you choose to treat a pest like the fall armyworm, which we are experiencing an overwhelming outbreak of this year.
The question is, to treat or not to treat? Cool-season turfgrass, like tall fescue, could possibly recover from a fall armyworm infestation late in the year without treatment, and you also can reseed this fall. Bermudagrass and zoysia grass lawns may be only slightly damaged and do not warrant treatment.
If you do choose to treat, read and follow the label, treat only if needed and only the affected area, which should not be the food for other desirable caterpillars. Also note that there are safer products available. Please contact our call center at okmganswers@gmail.com, or call us at 405-713-1125 for more information.