Polythemous cat killer

19 years ago

For the first time ever, I found a large beautiful lime green cat climbing up an outdoor screen. I id'd it as a polythemus cat. I kept feeding it maple leaves for weeks, leaving it outside. It kept getting bigger and bigger until last week when it looked like a brown secretion came out of the bottem and it grew smaller and eventually dropped off the leaves and now has died. Any ideas? It is late Oct. so not many wasps are still around, although that is possible.

I just hope I get to see one of these again--we do have a large red leaf maple tree. If so, what is the best way to protect it?

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Comments (4)

jmcat
19 years ago
Was it enclosed in a container? Do you use pesticides? Though I am not an expert on this, it sounds kind of like a pesticide problem.
-Jmcat
jackie46
Original Author
19 years ago
We did spray BT for webworms, quite a distance away in no wind, but I guess it's possible that some wafted? I don't like to spray, but this year I have japanese maples and all sorts of other things that have been practically defoliated twice by the webworms. Thanks for your response, sad, I would have loved to see it coccoon and eclose.
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jmcat
19 years ago
I have not personally had experience with BT (fortunately), but I have heard of it carrying a fair distance.
-Jmcat
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
19 years ago
Bt spores are also ubiquitous, occuring in nature almost everywhere. Your spraying may have increased the chances of your caterpillar coming into contact with the bacterium.