So what the hell eats cumquat leaves?

[GavinG]

Two of these vicious little beasties have chewed up about a quarter of the leaves on a little cumquat in two days - I thought NOTHING ate citrus leaves, except us.

P1040386.jpg

Any ideas what they might have become? Certainly they're nicely coloured. In a voracious and evil way.

Gavin

[Pup]

Handsome greedy bugger like me

[MattA]

That is one damned sexy little muncher, I really like his zebra stripe legs..

Handsome greedy bugger like me

I didnt know you had striped legs

Matt

Forgot to say... nope.. no idea what he becomes.. a Pup it seems

[Petra]

Orchard butterfly (Papilio Aegeus). The big black one with 2 red dots on botttom wings. if you have other citrus trees just relocate him to them.
We talked about these critters a few weeks ago. These are the ones with the silver cocoon. This time of year they are every where.
When young they look like bird poo,he wont each much.

orchd butfly.jpg

Adult%20female%20Orchard%20Butter.jpg

[Andrew Legg]

Two of these vicious little beasties have chewed up about a quarter of the leaves on a little cumquat in two days - I thought NOTHING ate citrus leaves, except us.
Gavin

You eat Citrus leaves?????

[Joel]

Orchard butterfly (Papilio Aegeus). The big black one with 2 red dots on botttom wings. if you have other citrus trees just relocate him to them.
We talked about these critters a few weeks ago. These are the ones with the silver cocoon. This time of year they are every where.
When young they look like bird poo,he wont each much.

orchd butfly.jpg

Adult%20female%20Orchard%20Butter.jpg

These ones have brown cocoons. Silver ones are from the Oleander butterfly. If you poke it with a stick you might see two red "horns" poke from the top of its head. It's a way of deterring predators.

Joel

[Roger]

If you have some native wasps around, some of them patrol the citrus and collect the catepillars when they are tiny - thus not much eating of the leaves. We usually have the wasps around, but for the past couple months they've disappeared and now a great crop of huge munching catepillars!

[GavinG]

Thanks Petra and Joel, certainly two red horns when its dinner was disturbed.

As for not eating much.....

Andrew, lime leaves get sliced fine into south-east asian food. It's much like using lemon zest.

Roger, no wasps for miles - whole area bull-dozed and bare, now a brick-dust and box trees mushroom suburb. What I really want to know is how them there bugs got here. Anyone speak caterpillsh?

Thanks to all,

Gavin

[Pup]

That is one damned sexy little muncher, I really like his zebra stripe legs..

Handsome greedy bugger like me

I didnt know you had striped legs

Matt

Forgot to say... nope.. no idea what he becomes.. a Pup it seems

Matt I am legless too much Kilkenny and Chivers