It's widely accepted that caterpillars can be detrimental to vegetable gardens, especially when you find them munching on your plants. While butterflies often get praise for their beauty, the caterpillar stage seems to get a bad rap, especially with names like "cabbage worm" or "army worm" leading the charge for destruction. Are there any caterpillars we can let be without worrying too much about our veggie beds?
3 Answers
Definitely keep the monarch caterpillars around! They’re pretty harmless and really cool. And let’s not forget about those swallowtails! If we take care of the caterpillars, we're supporting the bird population too, since a caterpillar makes a much better meal for parent birds than a fly or mosquito would. Just moving them away from your veggies can help out nature a lot.
I’d say caterpillars can work out just fine in a home garden if you give them a chance. I've been gardening here for eight years and had my share of caterpillar invasions early on, but I let nature take its course for the most part. Now, I rotate my crops, plant tons of native flowers to draw in beneficial bugs, and cover young plants. I still have a few nibbles here and there, but the ecosystem has balanced out, and I'm all for giving the caterpillars a break for the birds' sake!
I've seen some people advocating for preserving native caterpillars in the garden. I grow some 'sacrificial' plants, so the caterpillars have something to munch on while still keeping my prized plants safe. For instance, I won’t touch orchard or dainty swallowtail caterpillars; I just relocate them to bigger citrus plants when they get too cozy in the smaller ones. But cabbage whites? Those get dispatched on sight since they aren't native.
And Swallowtails too! They're beautiful and part of a great lifecycle!