Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Oh no .... catepillars and 'worms' !!

I am all for "All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small ..... "

... but not when they are having breakfast, lunch and supper on my Clivias !!



Spotted these catepillars having a feast on my Clivias when I came home from my 'brisk' walk this morning.

Needed to get into some 'training' before hubby and I go off for a weekend to the Drakensberg in two weeks time. There are always such beautiful walks and trails in the mountains - we are not 'hikers' but do enjoy a couple of hours walking the mountain trails. We are heading off for the Central Drakensberg this time - our usual stop is Northern where there is the magnificent Amphitheatre but this time we are going Central to the Champagne Valley. Been in that area years ago, so thought it was time for a revisit.

More info on this breathtakingly, beautiful part of our country -http://www.drakensberg.org.za/

We've also had the 'lawn catepillar' having a nibble at the lawn too. Managed to stem that before it became a huge problem and kill off the entire lawn. They are nasty little things too ... in a couple of hours the whole lawn can go from lush and green to brown and dead!!

With the children and the dogs, I am always reluctant to use the chemical poisons but in this case that is the only solution. I also wait until the boys have gone home and the dogs are inside before I go around with spray or 'poison stuff' in the watering can. Fortunately I curtailed these little green worms, but I am left with a little brown patch ... explaining to the kiddies the following day, not to walk on that area as the poison hasn't sunk in yet.

Connor now avoids 'this little brown patch' and runs around it when he plays, telling me of the "worm" !!
Showing mommy where the "worms" are !! ... in mommy's shoes!


7 comments:

  1. My guess is that they are Clivialis Eatemallupes.

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  2. Eeeuw! I would not have been too happy either! Love Connor in Mum's shoes!!

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  3. I dont think I've seen catepillars in Germany - hmmmmmmm will have to ask hubby about this one.

    LOL, look at the shoes Connor is wearing...How cute is that!!!!!!!

    Training is not only going to help you with your hike, its going to make you feel so much fitter and healthier..
    I sometimes wonder when I know how good training is for one why I loath it so much, why its such a fight to get myself going.

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  4. Had to find the proper name of the caterpillar - called a lily caterpillar (Spodoptera picta) !!

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  5. I like the name Clivialis Eatamallupes more. Its like that little bird called "Brown Overtheroadian" or the other one called "Black Ontheroofian". Very commen birds. LOL

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  6. LOL, love the photo of him at the worm patch

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  7. OK ... Firefly .. my white flag is up !!!

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