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Is the catapiller eating my gardenia a Butterfly or Moth?
We have 2 gardenia bushes but only one gets attacked by caterpillers. The caterpiller has an orange head and orange tail. I don't want to spray them incase they become butterflies. I can never find any cocoons either.
25 December 2011 11:41 PM
Hi Karen,
The hawk moth caterpillar is found on gardenias. Generally there is only one caterpillar per bush and they do not do too much damage.
I have attached a link to the Australian Museum which shows the life cycle of various hawk moths. They usually fly at night and so are not commonly seen during the daylight hours.
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Hawk-Moths
They are quite beautiful and I would not spray them as they cause little damage.