Pentas – Caterpillar Damage
Q: This thing destroyed a pot of pentas. Do you recognize this unneighborly guy?
A: It’s the caterpillar of a tersa sphinx moth. The moth itself is relatively large. When it flies, the wings don’t flutter like most moths, they flap to quickly propel the insect from flower to flower.
It is close kin to the tomato hornworm caterpillar. Both are well known to quickly consume plant leaves when the caterpillar has grown large.
Keep an eye on your pentas plants next summer and when the leaves begin to show damage, examine the plant closely for the small caterpillar. When found, remove and destroy it.
Scroll to the next to last paragraph here
Caterpillar damage to pentas
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Bulbs – When to Plant in Fall
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Lilac – Growing in Georgia
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