Content:
- Why are Caterpillars Considered Pests?
- Caterpillar Diet
- The Story About Oak Leaves
- How to Fight Caterpillars
- Conclusion
Talking about caterpillar diet, they do have their purpose in this world and without them, we’d be in some trouble. They’re crucial in keeping the food chain functional since they act as both predator and prey. They also pollinate flowers which means they help them grow and spread their seeds.
Fruits, vegetables, and flowers of all kinds get pollinated by butterflies that have a similar job to bees (except they don’t make honey and aren’t as complex as bees). They also eat nectar but this isn’t their only food source (plants are potential prey to butterflies).
See, if butterflies went extinct, many species wouldn’t have their usual food source and the plants would have a much tougher time growing and spreading around the land. However, when talking about caterpillars, they can be quite nasty.
Caterpillars are the stage from which butterflies are born, but they aren’t nearly as nice as them (some might argue not even beautiful but I think that caterpillars are pretty-looking). They still act as prey to most animals, but their purpose is far grimmer (spooky, eh?).
In fact, caterpillars have been known to destroy plants and leaves from trees, which, in a sense, makes them pests. It’s not often that you find them in your yard, ruining everything, but when you do, it’s quite the sight to see. Of course, in most cases it isn’t worth killing them since the process of fighting the caterpillars back is simple:
You can just remove them from the plants in your yard and relocate them somewhere far away. But, when the going gets tough, the tough get going, and sometimes you just have no other choice.
Why are Caterpillars Considered Pests?
Well, for starters, they multiply very quickly. You might have only a couple of caterpillars one day and a hundred more the next. It all depends on the species of caterpillar/butterfly but most reproduce quickly.
And once they do, there’s no stopping them unless you act quickly. They can destroy a singled-out tree in a matter of days (sometimes even hours!).
Other than that, if you worked hard to create a garden filled with wonderful plants hoisting vegetables or fruits – you’ll want to protect them, correct? Caterpillars are party-crashers and if they get their slug-like selves on your plants, it won’t be long before everything is lost.
A quick reaction is necessary but not everything can work as well as it should. See, commercial caterpillar killers can be effective, but they also may not be. It all depends on the type of killer and the ingredients. It’s safe to say that you should avoid these because they’re expensive and are chemically-based, so this poison could end up on your fruit or vegetables.
Caterpillar Diet
It’s time to talk about the caterpillar’s diet. It’s safe to say that, if you end up with a caterpillar infestation and don’t react quickly – your plants will be pretty much gone. Caterpillars are incredibly quick at destroying plant life and eating it so it’s important you are quick enough to deal with them.
Now, let’s take a look at what they feed on since this information will be of importance in almost any situation involving caterpillars and your yard.
The Picky Eater
Let’s start with the weird. Some caterpillars are actually carnivores and feed on meat. Well, they won’t exactly kill your cows or chickens, but they will clean house regarding insects. Aphids are the most common target of these carnivorous caterpillars and it’s no surprise considering they’re smaller than the caterpillars and soft-bodied – easy prey for the caterpillar.
There are also those that feed only on one food type. Such an example is the Ceratophaga Vicinella caterpillar that is found in the southeast US. They feed only on dead gopher tortoise shells. I know, it’s weird, but it’s how it is.
The reason why most animals avoid tortoise shells and tortoises, in general, is because their shells are made of keratin; the same thing found in your nails. However, the Ceratophaga is more than capable of digesting keratin so there’s no reason for it to avoid the shells.
The Not-So-Picky Eater
The largest number of caterpillar species are herbivores and feed on plants, trees, leaves, seeds, and even flowers. It all depends on the caterpillar species, but whichever you end up seeing in your garden should be a sign of trouble to come.
Mourning cloak caterpillars aren’t nearly as picky as their exotic cousins. They feed on elm, willow, aspen, cottonwood, paper birch, and hackberry – a pretty impressive collection of trees.
The Black Swallowtail caterpillars are also the opposite of picky. Their diet includes all members of the parsley family including fennel, carrot, parsley, and dill. Some specialist caterpillar species have diets restricted to smaller plant groups whilst others, such as the Monarch Caterpillar, feed on the foliage of milkweed plants.
The Story about Oak Leaves
You wouldn’t believe how many species of caterpillar feed on oak leaves but it’s true. A shocking 500 species, maybe even more, feast on oak leaves as part of their diet. This is especially interesting because your usual selective-feeder caterpillar that chooses its food carefully will take a bite out of oak leaves.
No one’s really sure why they love oak leaves so much (although there’s speculation that oak leaves have all the necessary nutrients each caterpillar needs); kind of a universal meal. So, if you have an oak tree in your backyard, it might be smart to caterpillar-proofing it so you don’t end up with a half-dead tree with no leaves.
On top of that, most caterpillars love feeding on willow, apple, and cherry leaves (for similar reasons as with the oak leaves).
That’s all there is to know about their diet – plants, plants, and plants (except for the couple of exceptions we mentioned earlier). Now, what can you do if a caterpillar infestation starts happening?
How to Fight Caterpillars
Getting rid of caterpillars and preventing them from infesting your plants is rather easy but can be tedious at times (depending on the number of caterpillars involved).
Your best bet would be to use either hot pepper or garlic since these two ingredients have been known to completely kill a caterpillar. Garlic is acidic in nature and caterpillars don’t get along with acidic stuff.
Hot peppers are, well, hot, and aren’t exactly part of the caterpillar’s diet. Both ingredients can be used as a spray (mixing hot peppers with water or garlic and water) which you’ll spray on your plants or on the caterpillars themselves.
This is the cheapest way to fight a caterpillar infestation because it works very well and is incredibly cheap. Commercial caterpillar killers aren’t as good and can cost a lot of money.
Additionally, you could remove them physically from the plants. Use pincers or your hands (with protective clothing ie gloves) to remove them and:
- Either put them in a jar and let them go far away from your home
- Or drown them in a bucket filled with water and dish soap
Whatever your choice maybe, it’ll be effective.
Oh, you mustn’t forget about the eggs; moths and butterflies lay eggs on the underside of leaves as a way to protect them but since you’re smarter than the average moth or butterfly, you’ll know where to look. You can either squash the eggs or rip out the leaf and destroy it. Keep in mind that taking the leaf may not be the best strategy if the plant has too much damage. Be smart about it!
Conclusion
The diet of caterpillars can vary greatly from species to species but almost all of them have a couple of foods in common. We already talked about cherry leaves, oak leaves, and many other leaves so if your yard has any of these trees – start looking for caterpillars and start removing them from the premises.
It’s no wonder that they’re such big pests because of their huge appetites. They need to reproduce (and they do, rather quickly) so a larger intake of food is necessary. The natural remedies to caterpillar infestations are very good options and can easily be created.
Although, there’s one important side of the argument that we haven’t covered it’s worth noting: Caterpillars are important pieces of the food chain. Killing them might not be the best idea. We recommend removal using the before-mentioned methods that won’t harm them since a hungry bird might want to eat it.
In general, caterpillars are considered pests but not in all cases. This is why it can get difficult to remove them or get rid of them. Their diets don’t help either, but at least you’ll know how to identify which species is which through the food they eat.
