Just Leave Them!

  I am not one to go around needlessly killing critters...any critter.  There are very few critters on my "exterminating" list.  Things like termites, mosquitoes and gnats top that list along with roaches.  The life span of any of those is very short if I have anything to say about it.  Still, there are those folks that get "bug spray" happy and use enough of the stuff to thoroughly poison their entire home and yard.  Not me.  If a critter stays outside, then it can live.  Enough said.  Most of the time, the same folks that are busy with their sprayers are the ones that will remark about how beautiful a butterfly is or lament the decline of the honeybees.  They love the beautiful "swan" of a butterfly but hate the "ugly duckling" also known as a leaf-eating caterpillar.  Well, you can't have one without the other.  It does not happen.  I like butterflies as they do a great job of pollinating things along with acting as yard ornaments.  The caterpillars make an unsightly mess of plants but are only doing what they are meant to do so caterpillars in my yard are not doused with insecticides.  

  Today, the citrus trees were deemed an "unsightly mess" since the orange dog caterpillars are out and about.  They are happily munching the leaves of every citrus tree on the hillside!  If this keeps going, I will soon have "bald" trees!  Orange dogs are those funky caterpillars that look like and smell like bird poop.  This is their camouflage and only bit of protection other than a weird projectile that resembles a snake's tongue.  This odd thing is their osmeterium gland and is what causes the stench that scares away most predators.  (It scares me!)  As ugly as the caterpillars are, they do turn into some rather lovely butterflies.  The orange dogs are the caterpillar stage of the giant swallowtail butterflies! 

 I read where one "environmental group" recommends that it is best to "hand pick the caterpillars and place them in a baggy to be discarded in the trash."  Whoa!! Some environmental group that is!  To my way of thinking that is rather cruel!  Think about the slow death the caterpillars have to endure!  If you really must get rid of them, hand pick and smash them.  Or even better...leave them! Don't kill those ugly ducklings if you want beautiful swans.  The butterflies that grace your flower gardens have to start somewhere!