Q: I am desperately hoping you can help me. A mother moth laid eggs on my window screen in early November. As of today, surprise, some of them hatched. Tonight is supposed to be freezing and I did not feel comfortable leaving the poor hatchlings on the window screen. Well, now I have these creatures I barely know anything about. I don’t know what to feed them because I did not find them on a plant. What do I feed them? Are they better off on their own? I have them in a small Pyrex container with a stocking stretched over as the lid. I did thinly slice a lantana leaf and put it in there with them, but they are so new I am afraid that they can’t eat the leaf.
A: If you can send a photo of the caterpillars, I will see if I recognize them. Since insects have specific diets, it is important to identify them if you want to feed them. If you have any plants nearby, that might help us narrow down which moth laid the eggs. Some insects overwinter in the egg stage but if they hatched in this weather that is a horse of a different color. This generation might have been destined to freeze to death. It’s very possible that these moths had one or more generations in 2016 and this one just had bad timing.
Peter L. Warren is the urban horticulture agent for the Pima County Cooperative Extension and the University of Arizona. Questions and photos may be emailed to tucsongardensage@gmail.com
