Last week when Luana was gardening with her family she spotted something bright green lying on the soil. She took a closer look and saw it was a caterpillar. She couldn’t believe how green it was – it almost looked fluorescent!
Luana made the caterpillar a home inside a big jar with some soil, sticks and leaves and thought it would be really interesting to watch the caterpillar transform into a beautiful butterfly. She says her caterpillar is very hungry (it’s eating lots of leaves!) and that it is growing bigger!
She did a bit on investigating on the computer and thinks her caterpillar is an angle shades caterpillar. These are the facts she found:
Angle Shades Moth
Scientific name: Phlogophora meticulosa
This common Eurasian moth, Phlogophora meticulosa, is very similar to its North American relatives in the Noctuidae family of moths. The adult is pretty and interesting-looking. It rests with its wings folded in a way that makes it really resemble a dead leaf. These moths fly toward lights and can be found even in urban, developed areas. The green angle shades caterpillar (although some forms are brown) is hard to find on the plant but are most likely to be found on apple, birch, spinach, nettle, or one of literally dozens of other common plants and trees.
Does it sting?
No.
What does it eat?
Almost anything, from beets to nettles.
Will it seriously damage plants or trees?
Enough of them can eat a good amount of your salad garden.
Is it rare?
No.
What does it turn into?
A pretty brown moth.
Luana wonders whether any of you have found any caterpillars in your garden – maybe you’ve found a different type of caterpillar. Let us know if you have!
What a wonderful home you’ve made for Lola the caterpillar! I look forward to hearing any updates 🙂
Miss Horton
