THIS IS PART ONE OF A SERIES ABOUT CARE OF CITRUS – how to recognize and deal problems without the use of harmful chemicals. I’ll probably say it several times in this piece but IF YOU WANT A GARDEN FILLED WITH BUTTERFLIES – DON’T KILL THE CATERPILLARS (I make an exception for any that decide to destroy my main food source – my kitchen garden). Read on to find out the two main caterpillars you will find on citrus and why they are not a problem.
I have a lot of empathy with doctors – I see them being waylaid at parties by a guest who wants an on the spot diagnosis of their current ailment while, on the opposite side of the room, I’ve been rumbled by a guest (another avid gardener) whose eyes light up at the thought that they may finally get an answer to their thorny citrus problem (ouch!)
TIP: Don’t overfeed with nitrogen rich fertilizers – you will end up with over large and very pithy fruit and those juicy green leaves will be a magnet for pest attack. I have written a lot about citrus, so if you are beginning on your citrus adventure a good place to start is here.
And now to caterpillars on citrus and what to do about them? The answer is basically – NOTHING – just enjoy the butterflies flitting around your garden – they do very little damage.
FIRSTLY: The DAINTY SWALLOWTAIL or Small Orchard Butterfly. You may see a small black/brown/white caterpillar on the leaves of your citrus – that look a bit like a bird dropping and about 3 cm long.
IT THEN PUPATES INTO THIS GORGEOUS BUTTERFLY It’s a mainly black and white beauty with a dash of red on the tips of its back wings. I often see them flitting in and out of the pentas and zinnias which they seem to just love.
SECONDLY: The ORCHARD SWALLOWTAIL or Large Citrus Butterfly. You may also see this large caterpillar on your citrus. The red horns pop out as a defence mechanism. APPARENTLY they think it makes them look really scary! It will pupate after this stage and turn into the beautiful butterfly below.
I was thrilled to see this beauty in my garden recently – not a common sight I might add. It thought it could make an artistic addition to a mobile I have hanging on my patio? I agree.
Enjoy – don’t destroy. The magnificent Large Citrus Butterfly
Take Jerry Coleby Williams advice (ABC Gardening Australia) and if you find more than one caterpillar on your citrus tree, just move one to another tree – to lessen any damage they may do to the leaves, and enjoy two beautiful butterflies when they emerge from their cocoons.
DON’T BLAME THE DAMAGE, IN THE FIRST PHOTO, ON CATERPILLARS – it’s caused by these large fellow in the second photo – crickets/grasshoppers or, in the case of this particular one – the largest of all – field locusts. It’s easy mistake the damage because both chew from the edge of the leaves inwards, but caterpillars on citrus don’t devastate the tree in the way that these critters do.
What to do about them? Plagues of them vary from season to season, usually at their worst in mid-summer, but are not always a problem. Keep your plants healthy (but don’t overfeed) and interplant with a wide variety of strong smelling flowering plants. If you popped your head over my garden fence, you may also see this madwoman dashing about with a butterfly net catching grasshoppers which then go into a bucket of water with a lid on! When I had chooks they cleaned them
up for me.
Dear Gardening Friends. All the information I provide on my website I do for FREE. However, I do ask that if you have found this information useful that you make a small donation via the sidebar button. It’s easy and helps me to keep the grandchildren in ice creams and the wolf from my door. Thank you. Di 💚
Go to this link to find out how to look out for them and safe ways of controlling them
Click on this link to find out how to control them without nasty chemicals
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Where about in the world are you Manoja? What kind of lime tree is it and is it in a pot or in the garden? Do you have a healthy biodiverse environment that encourages birds and beneficial insects? To be continued.
I find the caterpillars eating all the lime flowers that are just blossoming to the tiny fruits. Hence have never been able to get the lime crop although the plant has been flowering for the last three years. Any advice? I am a vegan and wouldn’t use any insecticide.
That's funny Rita, because I was only thinking this morning how many butterflies there were in the garden – this has happened quite suddenly. They love the flowering tarragon, pentas and gaura. Di
Hi Diane,
Enjoyed your post again, Jackie French features on my bookshelves too.
What I've noticed in the Mullum Yard this summer and last year's Spring, a vast decrease in butterfly caterpillars with no butterflies this summer. I also have a thriving colony of paper wasps. They feed their larvae on chewed up caterpillars.
Rita