Hi Ms. Bhagyashri, The caterpillars are most likely to be of the Tawny Coster butterfly. Host plants are generally specific for butterflies. Sometimes butterflies have multiple host plants as in this case - caterpillars of this butterfly can also survive on Aporoso lindleyana, Adenia hondala and other species of Passiflora. From the grass where you have placed them the caterpillars will either have to find their way back to the host plant or perish. With regards, Neil Soares.
--- On Thu, 6/7/12, Bhagyashri <[email protected]> wrote: From: Bhagyashri <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [efloraofindia:118981] efloraofindia:'' Id 03062012MR1’’ need your help; how do I save the Passiflora sp and the ?caterpillars @ Pune To: "hari lal" <[email protected]> Cc: "efloraofindia" <[email protected]> Date: Thursday, June 7, 2012, 3:49 PM Thank you Hari lal ji for the appreciation. By evening all the caterpillars gathered at the corner of the leaf up and below the leaf. As you can see in the pic attached they had started voraciously eating into the leaf. Next morning it was even worse. There is grass around my house so I cut the leaf at the stalk and placed it within the grass. I think they would survive there and my plant too was saved. On Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 3:34 PM, hari lal <[email protected]> wrote: nice madam On 6/3/12, Bhagyashri <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear members, > 3rd June 2012 Pune > 3-4 days back I saw some ? eggs on the Passiflora sp at my home. Today in > the morning luckily I witnessed the actual hatching of these ?caterpillars > from these beautiful transparent ? cocoons. It was a moment to remember. On > the opposite leaf I saw a yellow purple insect ( I have know idea as to > what it is) looking in this direction; and then came a ? wasp moving within > these caterpillars and cocoons. I have absolutely no idea about the > relation between these 3. Will these grow big and eat away the leaves? What > do I do to preserve the plant and the caterpillars too? Would very much > appreciate your help. > -- > Thanks and Regards > Bhagyashri > -- HARI SHANKAR LAL AT-SHIV KUTIR PO-BARA BAZAR DIST-HAZARIBAG PIN-825301 JHARKHAND,INDIA MOBILE-9431530563 [email protected] -- RegardsBhagyashri
