Please help, i have lots of caterpillars in my shower...

catherinejmgiles · #1 (**permalink**) 31-05-2011, 06:58 PM

Hi,

I'm new here, and as the title suggests I have lots of teeny tiny baby caterpillars in my shower.

I'm hoping you might be able to tell me what to do, or even collect them if you like!

Anyway about a week and a half ago, a beautiful white moth came into my bathroom. It was really pretty and had a white furry head, and pure white wings, but at the bottom of the wings were lots of black spots like a dalmation. It stayed above the toilet for about 4 days and when it moved I realised there were lots of eggs under it, it then moved into the shower and has laid at least 100 more eggs. These hatched yesterday and now there are loads of babies.

So, does anyone have any ideas about what I should do with these babies?

Many thanks!

shenk1 · #2 (**permalink**) 31-05-2011, 07:07 PM

Sounds like Ermine Moth cats.

If you collect them up the birds will eat them or they will feed on whatever green stuff you put them on (don't release them near your favourite plant

)

Welcome to WAB

catherinejmgiles · #3 (**permalink**) 31-05-2011, 09:07 PM

Thanks, I dont really want to kill them, but they are so tiny I cant get them on to a bit of paper. May try and feed them up a bit

sunnydale · #4 (**permalink**) 01-06-2011, 04:04 PM

Welcome to WAB Catherine

Interesting place for eggs to be laid!

Tracey

JRsbugs · #5 (**permalink**) 01-06-2011, 04:57 PM

I found a Buff Ermine in a plastic bucket I had near my back wall.. she had laid eggs on the inside of it! There's a list of food plants on Wiki, (the caterpillars feed on a range of herbaceous plants (you can see if that's what it is but the White Ermine feeds on a range of plants too). If you could place a leaf of one of those, or try lettuce, you might find they climb aboard then you can move them.

Buff Ermine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Janet