Do Not Be Repulsed By Unfinished Butterflies This tomato hornworm appears a lot more dangerous than it really is. Its "horn," although quite flexible and weak, is barbed. I was amazed, while sweeping the concrete patio this morning next to the hollyhocks and other flowers, at the large amount of frass that had fallen down from the plants’ leaves. Frass is not exactly a household word and simply means the debris or excrement produced by insects. In this case it was the tiny black spherical bits of excrement from the caterpillars that have been feasting on the leaves of the hollyhocks. It is especially during August and into September that awesome numbers of little "hairy cats" are on the move and also feasting on vegetation. Actually they’re not all hairy, and none are cats. I’m referring to caterpillars. The word caterpillar is from the Old North French, catepelose, meaning hairy cat. I must confess to doing away with plenty of caterpillars in my lifetime, especially cabbage loopers and cutworms which have not been welcome additions to our garden. Both the looper and cutworm are larvae (LAR-vee) that will eventually develop into small nondescript moths. You are already getting the picture that caterpillars go by a variety of names. A few are even referred to as borers and slugs. Did you ever realize that one doesn’t bite into a wormy apple? It’s really a caterpillary apple! The so-called worms are perhaps the caterpillars of coddling moths. By the way, these "apple worms" are also known to attack pears and peaches. It is a pity that there is such disdain showered upon caterpillars in general. Even though we have picked quite a few tomato hornworms off our tomato plants, we simply deposit them well away from the garden. We admire the sphinx moths too much (their adult stage) to kill these larvae. In fact it is always during this season that we are frequently asked about the large, strange, "hummingbird" hovering at the flowers. When the callers describe its striped body the two dark "feelers" or antennae on the creature’s head we immediately realize that they are observing one of a number of kinds of large, fast-flying hawk moths. One of the more common species in this area, having a vividly striped abdomen, is the great ash sphinx moth that measures around four and three-fourths inches from wing tip to wing tip. A more common name of the many included in this large group of moths is the sphinx moth. Disturb these so-called tomato worms, or hornworms, and they’ll rear up looking for all the world like a miniature Egyptian sphinx, hence their name of sphinx moth. Another caterpillar, one of the most gorgeously decorated of all, that throws a scare into a lot of people, is the cecropia moth caterpillar. This magnificent creature has ornamental tubercles on the top of each segment. On a fully grown larva the tubercles are blue on the first segment, large and orange-red on the second and third segments, and greenish-blue with blackish spots and spines on all other segments except the 11th which has on top one large yellow tubercle ringed with black. The Master Designer did a great job with this dazzling caterpillar! What fascinating forms of protection many species of these vulnerable slow-moving caterpillars have. The tomato hornworms we’ve been diligently searching for and relocating all sported the vicious-appearing single horns on their rear ends. Yes they are quite flexible to the touch and are totally harmless to humans. Upon close examination you will see that these horns do possess tiny barbs. Whether they have some harmful effect upon predators, such as birds, I do not know. Certainly the soft green color of the hornworm makes it difficult to find within its tomato paradise. Having eaten the foliage and stems of the plants, it stands to reason that they would be much the same color. The caterpillar of the beautiful black swallowtail butterfly might rightfully be called the skunk of the butterfly world. Touch a tiny straw or twig to its body and out of two Y-shaped pockets in the segment back of the head will emerge two yellowish-orange scent organs appearing like tiny horns. They contain a peculiar nauseating caraway odor. Obviously this caterpillar "perfume" was designed to ward off predators. I gaze in admiration at especially some of the smooth caterpillars including those of the monarch butterfly and the five-spotted hawkmoth (the larva referred to as the tomato hornworm). The tiny vents on the sides of their abdomens are known as spiracles and are actually breathing pores. Air passing through these small openings is distributed throughout their bodies via a system of air tubes called tracheae (TRAY-kee-a). John Gay summed it up perfectly when he wrote in 1727, "And what’s a butterfly (or moth)? At best, He’s but a caterpillar, dressed." This column appeared in the Door County Advocate on 08/24/2001. © Copyright 2001 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.