They're baaaaaaaaack!

Earlier this week, when I was taking Barklie for his morning constitutional, I noticed the Frangipanni caterpillars are back. I think these creatures are so amazing, and they're HUGE! There were only a couple of them munching on leaves, so they've got their work cut out for them! In previous years, there have been many, many, many on all the frangipannis ... truly an amazing sight. The first time I saw them, I was afraid they'd kill the plants, but they don't. They just eat all the leaves, fill up their bellies, grow to gigantic proportions, then burrow down in the dirt to start their next stage of transformation. I think they become hawk months. A couple of years ago, I captured a caterpillar and put it in a container with some dirt and leaves, so I could observe the entire process. Well, it became a full time job of adding new leaves and cleaning out the droppings ... YUCK! They eat a LOT and they seem to poop even more ... they are pooping machines! TMI? Needless to say, I set the caterpillar free and didn't get to witness the full process. Maybe I'll try again, I'm still very curious about them.