Creepy crawly
Imagine my surprise when I found THIS little critter munching away on my Iris today:
(picture copied from the Wikipedia entry on this insect)
This striking caterpillar is called Saddleback caterpillar and is the larval stage of a rather unstriking moth (whose picture & description can be found here).
Touching the freaky thing is not advisable: it stings and can cause a bad rash (there are several comments about encounters with saddlebacks on Dave's Garden).
ETA: Tuesday morning damage report: about half an Iris leaf has been consumed. I have no idea when the caterpillar will turn into a pupa, but I hope it's soon! :)
This striking caterpillar is called Saddleback caterpillar and is the larval stage of a rather unstriking moth (whose picture & description can be found here).
Touching the freaky thing is not advisable: it stings and can cause a bad rash (there are several comments about encounters with saddlebacks on Dave's Garden).
ETA: Tuesday morning damage report: about half an Iris leaf has been consumed. I have no idea when the caterpillar will turn into a pupa, but I hope it's soon! :)