About larvae, caterpillars and butterflies

About larvae, caterpillars and butterflies

Quite often there are posts asking about "bugs" or "pests" on few host plants like citrus varieties, curry leaf, etc. For every such post, there are always positive comments and negative comments. And most of the times, its the same set of comments. So, here is my effort to provide pretty much the same info in a blog post, with the hope that the same questions do not get the same answers over and over again.

This post applies to few varieties of larvae and caterpillars like 

• Rain lily moth caterpillar
• Common mormon
• Oleander Hawk Butterfly/ Moth Caterpillar

These insect lifes, are nothing but the larvae/caterpillar of some commonly found insects in an average garden. They have different names, but then I am neither into entomology or lepidopterology.

They are voracious/heavy eaters and they do eat up a lot of leaves. But in turn they are doing us a favour by pruning the plant. This is how nature works and everything has its own place. The pruning of the leaves, helps the plant to grow back with more vigour.

In general its advised to prune citrus plants and curry leaf plant, so that the plant grows bushier. These caterpillars provide this service to you for free of cost, without any trouble and you are also nurturing life.

Later these butterflies help in pollination and add beauty to your garden. Gardening is not only about growing plants and harvesting. Its also about building a micro eco-system in and around the garden.

So my advice is to keep these "pests" around, which in turn are silent helpers.

The best work around, if you are really concerned about the larvae eating up the leaves is :
- in a fish bowl or a glass vase, take a few leaves and twigs of the plant.
- place the larvae/caterpillar in the bowl/vase.
- cover the lid with some breathable material, so that there is air circulation and the caterpillars don't come out of the bowl.
- keep monitoring the growth of the larvae. This will be an excellent live education session for yourself and your family/children.
- once you see that the butterfly is about to emerge, place the bowl in the garden and remove the covering breathable material.
- The butterfly will take its flight of freedom. At this stage the butterfly is not very strong and will struggle a bit to fly. It will not be able to travel long distances. This is a good opportunity to click some pictures.

You can refer this link for pics and some more details from Vani Murthy. 


Following image is from wikipedia, that shows the lifecycle of this variety butterfly.




For general good growth of a curry leaf plant :
- take 50ml of curd and dilute with 1L of water
- mix vigorously to make it like buttermilk consistency
- use this to water the plant.

Seed Starting / Sowing Tips

This is unedited version from a post by Meenakshi Arun from a gardening group. TY Meena for sharing your tips :) 

Seed starting tips - what to keep in mind when you sow seeds

Seed sowing tips :

1. Why use cocopeat/peat manure/peat mix and starter trays to sow: It allows the roots system to develop well and allows you to start multiple plants in a small compact place. It also helps to keep the seeds in controlled moisture over time. There is no problem in using pots or soil mixes as well as long as you make sure the medium is fluffy and does not cake when watering.

2. How do you fill the tray: Fill all cells you intend to use with moist cocopeat/peat manure/peat mix till each looks full. Then, IMPORTANT - use your thumb to press down each cell - you will see that the medium almost goes down halfway. This is important to ensure that the medium is not too loose and prevent seedlings from falling off. Now fill the cells again with medium all the way to the top and press again. The person i spoke to was not doing this and it is one of the common reasons for the seedlings to damp off (others include insufficient light after sprouting, and over/under watering)

3. You should use moist mix to start with when filling. Once filled, you can sow the seeds using a rule of thumb to sow a seed as deep as roughly 2-3 times its size - use a dibber/spoon/pencil to make the depression I use a spoon marked with cm and inch points and use the general guideline on the seed packet or the seed size. After this, cover the depression. At this stage don't water heavily from the top - sprinkle/spray water from the top but the better idea is to place your seed tray in a tray and fill water till about the bottom 1/3 of your seed cell. This will allow the cells to wick up the water they need and prevent water logging in the trays.

The ONLY exception to burying seeds is seeds that need light to germinate. Examples are lettuce, coriander, most tiny herb seeds etc. Such seeds must be broadcast on the surface and kept in a bright spot for them to germinate. Placing the pot or tray under a plastic sheet or in a plastic bag will help quicken germination. The cover must be removed after germination and the pot/tray moved to light. 

4. Place the seed tray in a shaded spot. If you have issues with rodents/squirrels, you could consider covering the trays with plastic sheets/netting or placing them in a large plastic bag or a box or indoors. Remember to remove the sheet as soon as your first sprouts are seen and move to partial shade. As the seedlings grow, move them to light, keep turning the tray so they grow tall and water still from below. You can also start to water them every 2-3 days with a 1% or 0.5% Panchagavya solution or with diluted compost tea.

5. Transplant seedlings when you have 2-3 sets of leaves developed. Always transplant late evening to let the plants recover from transplant shock. Water the cells well and move the seedlings to prepared destinations quickly without any damage to roots.

The same guidelines for sowing apply if growing in a pot directly:

Prepare your potting mix (good recommendation is 1 red soil 1 cocopeat 1 compost 1 Manure - you can see more ratios in the files section). Follow the same instructions to sow (depth and moisture). You can use a plastic sheet to cover the pot until germination. Follow the same guidelines after germination. Water gently until the seedlings are growing strong after which start to water deep.

If sowing in the ground - need to ensure the beds are well prepared with manure and compost etc. Some seeds can be sown in depressions (okra/beans) and some need a small hill (gourds, melons, cucumbers etc) Very important to keep ground beds well watered and gently.