Beautiful! I found these lovely caterpillars on my passion plant over the weekend and didn't know what they were until I found your article and confirmed the Gulf Fritillary.

What can I do to detour them away (besides pick them off my vine) is there a spray that I could use? I no longer have my beautiful purple Passion flowers as of last year 2018. We live on 10 acres, woodsy, somehow they’ve found me.

What some people use who don't want caterpillars--not us!--is the biological insecticide, Dipel Bacillus thuringiensis (BT).

Riddle me this Bug Squad:  
What are the innocent passion flower vines of Central Florida to do when their leaves are swarmed upon, like Old Testament plague of locusts, devouring all but 2 or 3 leaves left on a whole vine? I am not trying to give the new nicotine-based pesticides a run for the best butterfly killer, but is there a way for me to possibly capture the caterpillars and send the caterpillars to regions that once had this species,(due to human errors in our planet's environment) but now are extinct or on the edge of extinction? The only reasons I do this is for my garden and the environment; as I see it, I have an over-abundance of a regional pollinator, which is all but gone in other parts of the United States.(I know I have bad grammar but I’m not writing for a Pulitzer). I just want to know if I can send these caterpillars to other people in the country, without upsetting the balance of nature or causing an environmental issue? I am offering these caterpillars to anyone who might need them, for free or price of shipping. Please let me know if it is possible to capture the caterpillars, keep them feed and watered and healthy, until they have reached their destination? If so what can I do to capture, safely care and properly house the caterpillars? Also any other ideas would be great.  
 
Thank You  
EGLove78

I planted two Passifloras for the first time this year--one fruiting and one ornamental. I have seen tons of orange butterflies-not monarchs-which we’ve never seen before. I just noticed over a dozen spikey orange and black caterpillars on the ornamental, not a single one on the fruiting one so far. I look forward to seeing the transformation up close!

I planted seeds in a pot and started getting the caterpillars.The vines grow like a weed and can be invasive but the caterpillars keep them in check and I have noticed birds eating them. So, I get vines in check, birds and butterflies. No problem here!

Are the caterpillars on my passion flower good or bad? I didn’t have any this morning, and now I have a bunch. Should I leave them alone or hose them off?

Where I live is a 10a zone in southern California. I had the most prolific first-year passion vines, and then these stupid fritillary butterflies (fake monarchs) destroyed it! It's still alive and all, but I picked as many eggs off as I could, then next picked as many caterpillars off as I could, thinking that it was a one-time thing. I ignored my plant s month or so and found tons of new caterpillars and 2 more butterflies swarming to lay eggs. What the heck can I do! There is already a cage around the lower half of the plant which now I'm not so sure is a great idea.

Very imformative

I planted 2 passion and 2 corky vines in the hope I would have a visit from the Gulf Fritillary. They came in their masses and I have managed to document 50 odd butterflies. My problem now is that I have at least 23 caterpillars on the vine and very little vegetation for them to eat. What can I do to preserve them.  
 
Regards  
Duncan

Great information!

Great information!

I have a question: Do they eat the fruit or affect the fruit?

I have a red passion fruit vine - but I have tons of lizards--with my milkweed I put in an open air enclosure--can I place them in different enclosure to protect them? Do they eat any other plants once I have caterpillars? thanks

All the flowers are dying on my passion vine but I have several Gulf Fritillary caterpillars eating the leaves. Will they eventually turn into butterflies?

If you don't want caterpillars, stop growing this vine. Quit poisoning caterpillars, people.

I live on the coast of NC, and planted a passion flower vine specifically for the Gulf Fritillaries. This is only the second year the vine has come back, and it has not disappointed me. I know some people are upset to see the caterpillars eating their passion flower vines, but with their habitats being destroyed acres at a time I think it's important to try and assist. So passion flower for them, milkweed for the monarch, dill for the swallowtail, etc. People treat monarch caterpillars like royalty and the others as pests. They are all important for our ecosystem and fascinating to watch. And in my area, the Gulf Fritillary butterflies don't come to breed until late summer/early fall so I have the passion flowers for the other pollinators during the spring and summer until the butterflies arrive to lay their eggs.

I've been trying to grow my own passion fruit vines from actual fruit that my dad gave me last year and this year its been a success. This morning I see we have two guest on my passion fruit leaves having breakfast in my patio garden. I currently reside in Huntington Beach California. So seeing these beauties in my garden is amazing.

A few weeks ago I had 20 Gulf Fritillary 'cats on one passionvine and, of course, they stripped it of almost all leaves. I’ve been watering and new leaves are emerging. I’m sure it’ll come back. My question: I found two Gulf Fritillary 'cats - very small now - on my vine. I have a nearby vine that is flourishing. Should I move them to the better vine or tie leaves on the recovering vine for them to eat?