Hardy Tropicals UK

So Rob,

You would'nt mind cabbage whites eating your Fern leaves. Remember how some creature spoiled my Fern last year?
Whatever, Cabbage White or the Moths that have never gone away since I bought the Fern just carried on eating till I got the water feature.

kata wrote:So Rob,

You would'nt mind cabbage whites eating your Fern leaves. Remember how some creature spoiled my Fern last year?

bittenfernleaf.jpg

Whatever, Cabbage White or the Moths that have never gone away since I bought the Fern just carried on eating till I got the water feature.

Honestly i would move them, there isn't enough butterflies in my opinion. Why does the water feature stop the damage?

I can't move it, Insects have wings anyway...

Errm..Water would drown them... so they don't go near. The Moths are hovering in wait for a juicy leaf to eat at the moment.

Safe yet as there is no leaf when one is ready to emerge from the crown the water feature will be turned on and left on.

How would you like your Fern to look like that...you would'nt!!

AAAAAAnyway.... the Alder buckthorn plants are now planted and ready to leaf up and established and wait to be eaten by Brimstone Caterpillars.

Are you sure they are moths? Firstly almost all moths only fly at night (there are a few exceptions), so unless you are out there with a torch they are more likely lacewings or something like that, and secondly I've never heard of any species that feed on ferns and I've been into lepidoptera since I was a teenager (could be wrong though). Leaves are pretty tough to chew through.

Can't think why the presence of water feature would have any impact either, some might be attracted by water but wouldn't repel any.

Sorry, can't help but defend my moths!!

Glad to hear the Buckthorns are in, sure some Brimstones will be along shortly if we get more sunny days like today to reward you with a few eggs!

Knautia arvensis and Scabiosa columbaria are also good nectarplants fot butterflies. And do start flowering earlier then Budleia.

Alexander

Can't beat buddleia. Mine was covered in butterflies from the moment it flowered last summer. The nice weather saw a population boom and they were literally queuing up for flower space.

Buddleia seems to be number 1 for butterflies indeed! They prefair the Chinese instead of native stuff...

Alexander

Saw some butterflies on Sunday:

double post - d'oh!

The place that had the butterfly enclosure also had plants for sale, including some exotics (E.G. cannas, ensetes and gingers in leaf), but funnily enough a load of them had been nibbled on, as if there were caterpillar damage!

AAAAAAnyway.

Kris

Sam, no real solution last year, when I can then I will bring an Image. Its a two white winged creature, also been here all winter just hovering the lawn.

would love to know what it is then I could treat the Fern.

They could be baby cabbage whites as I found another Caterpillar yesterday on a plant I was recycling.

Lovely Butterflies Rog!!

Here the tropical butterfly Caligo atreus catterpillars love the leaves of Hedychiums and Musa. Also some palms and Strelitzia they like. Well its a beautifull butterfly so it may eat some of the plants. Well in the tropical butterflygarden here in town. And thanks mainly to those Hedychiums I did introduce a couple of years ago there are now many Caligo atreus. And if I find catterpillars on slow growing Strelitzia nicolai of palms I pick them up and place them on vast growing Musa ornata.

Alexander

Most species of butterfly will only lay their eggs on a specific 2 or 3 species of plants, most of which are native 'weeds', shrubs or trees. As Kris says-no catterpillars, no butterflys

MonkeyDavid wrote:Most species of butterfly will only lay their eggs on a specific 2 or 3 species of plants, most of which are native 'weeds', shrubs or trees. As Kris says-no catterpillars, no butterflys

Im fond of caterpillars in the garden.