As of: March 14, 2024, 3:26 p.m
By: Ines Alms
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Sometimes they are hairy, sometimes colorful, ugly or pretty: until the caterpillars emerge, they can prey on vegetables in the garden or be harmless.
That's why it helps to determine them.
1 / 10The caterpillars of the greater cabbage white butterfly are easy to recognize and often appear in droves.
It is best to release the animals far away from the vegetables so that the beautiful butterflies can develop from them.
© Shotshop/Imago
2 / 10Not everyone has an oak or beech tree in their garden, but if you spot the hairy caterpillars of the oak processionary moth, be careful: their stinging hairs contain a poison that can cause skin and respiratory irritation or even allergic shock.
Hire professionals to remove it.
© Shotshop/Imago
3 / 10Looks dangerous, but doesn't do anything: black and yellow spiny caterpillars hatch from the eggs of the little fox, which rarely move away from their food plants, the nettles.
But you will soon have beautiful butterflies in your garden.
© blickwinkel/Imago
4 / 10Oh, kind of cute?
Not at all!
The caterpillar of the small frost moth eats entire fruit trees and ornamental trees, stripped down to the ribs.
© Zoonar/Imago
5 / 10But hello!
The eye-catching swallowtail caterpillar prefers umbelliferous plants such as wild carrot, fennel, dill and groundweed as a food source.
Treat the harmless caterpillar to a treat.
© Panthermedia/Imago
6 / 10The caterpillars of the web moth sit, for example, on fruit trees, sloes or sloes.
When they appear in large numbers, they eat entire trees bare... © Steinach/Imago
7 / 10... that's why you should collect them in the garden as soon as you find them.
Because otherwise it will soon become very spooky.
But it's not as tragic as it looks: at some point the caterpillars disappear and the plants then sprout again.
© blickwinkel/Imago
8 / 10A rather inconspicuous green caterpillar with unpleasant characteristics: the descendants of the coal owl are among the most common vegetable pests in the garden.
They contaminate the cabbages with feces and they then rot quickly.
© Steffen Schellhorn/Imago
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9 / 10Please let it live: The map is the butterfly of the year 2023 and likes to lay its eggs on umbelliferous flowers.
The thorny black caterpillars appear threatening, but do not cause any significant damage.
© CHROMORANGE/Imago
10 / 10Have you spotted a boxwood moth?
Then there is imminent danger and you should take action against it with pesticides, otherwise your boxwood will be lost.
In this case it must be disposed of immediately.
© localpic/Imago
Which caterpillar is that?
Sometimes caterpillars are really well camouflaged and leave large holes on cabbage leaves or ornamental plants until they are finally discovered.
Others shine with their shimmering colors like attention-seeking birds of paradise on a leaf or form eerie webs.
Their appearance does not provide any information as to whether they are pests after the fruit and vegetables in the garden or whether they are solitary creatures who just want to nibble a little - like the harmless swallowtail, which turns out to be such a pretty butterfly.
If caterpillars threaten the crop, you should simply collect them and release them elsewhere - as long as they have not yet reproduced en masse.
An exception to this are, for example, the caterpillars of the box tree moth or the oak processionary moth, which pose a real danger to people or plants.
Action must be taken immediately here.