Friday, 3 January 2020

Caterpillars


Darn....I knew there was a caterpillar or two somewhere among my potted plants when I noticed these little dark droppings among the leaves. So I zoomed in to have a closer look. Looked at the leaves, especially around the areas where the caterpillar droppings were seen.

Left no leave unscrutinised. With a tweezer in hand, I turned over every single leave in order to find the caterpillar or caterpillars.

Problem was the caterpillar was small and very well camouflaged. Light green and blended in so very well with the leaves. But once you know how to find your first caterpillar, it becomes much easier to spot another. And another. However, they can still be pretty elusive.

In the end, I have to declare, triumphantly, that I managed to find six of them, measuring from a mere half-an-inch to almost an inch-and-a-half. But this is not my record. Far from it. Just last month, my tally stood at 27 caterpillars, the result of three days of patience and hard work looking at leaves. But then it was kind of therapeutic.


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