Wow the caterpillars are GF love them and you are luck if you have fruit then you have amethyst and they hard to get I have the lavender lady and it doesnt fruit.

Don't get rid of the GF cats. They turn into a wonderful butterfly. I grow passion flower vines for the GF's.
Karyn

I'm glad I asked about the things eating the vine instead of killing them off.
How do I tell when the fruits are ready to pick for the seeds?
Thank you
Janet

The fruit will drop off the plant or when it comes off in your hand without pulling. If you are just interested in collecting the seed I'd wait for it to drop. I'm glad you've decided not to kill the GF cats : )
Karyn

PS: If you go to the "Attracting Butterflies" forum you'll find a ton of info on the GF.

Or go to the passiflora forum. Fruits don't necessarily mean that what you have is 'amethyst'-- lots of passionflowers make fruit easily. But I agree about the caterpillars-- they're great! Take lots of photos. My 4 year old loved it...
If you just want to collect seeds, then wait for the fruit to fall, generally. The seeds will be covered with goo stuff; put them in a mesh strainer and try to get off as much of the pulp as possible, then lay them out on a paper towel or plate to dry. Then you send them to me. (Just kidding). That's it. It usually takes a couple of days to really dry well.

Amanda 'romando'