- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
No doubt many of them did.
The award-winning book, published in 1969, traces the complete metamorphosis of a butterfly, from an egg to a larva (caterpillar) to a pupa (chrsyalis) to an adult.
If you've ever seen a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar chowing down on the leaves of a passion flower vine, you've seen The Very Hungry Caterpillar in action.
We planted a passion flower vine two months ago in our yard. The plant hasn't yet bloomed, but the Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanilla) found it. Thankfully! We planted it for them.
Within what seemed like a matter of days, the passion flower vine (the host plant of the Gulf Frits), went from no caterpillars--zero, zilch, nada--to five.
We've seen the showy orange-reddish butterflies fluttering around the plant looking for places to lay their eggs, but haven't seen them actually do it.
But the evidence is there!
"As a spiny orange-and-black caterpillar, it feeds only on passion flower leaves, eating many but not all species of the genus Passiflora," says butterfly expert Art Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis. "There are no native members of this genus in the state of California, but several are widely cultivated in gardens."
The butterfly, he says, can breed where there is a "critical mass" of these plants in a town or neighborhood.
Let there be a critical mass!
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
Regards
Duncan