In a rerun of an event that took place about 6 years ago, friends called me this morning to say their plumeria tree was covered in caterpillars! DH and I went and helped them get rid of them, but here are some pictures meanwhile.

The tree

The critters on the tree

bucket of caterpillars....

Those appear to be the hawk moth caterpillar, also called the frangipani moth caterpillar. They are similar to the azalea caterpillar and are heavy feeders. Those moths are similar to the sphinx moths that I see in the fall and are hummingbird size.

Yes, they are the caterpillars of the Tetrio Sphinx Moth and Plumeria are their main food group
Those of you who know me from 'the other site' may have read my article on them.

Awww..they do look cute! But I would hate it as well if it will feast on my Plumie. So what do you do with the caterpillars? Just toss them out??

I put them in a ziploc baggie and in the freezer, that is a humane way of killing them.

Oh, that is good to know..I would squirm trying to touch one.

I remember seeing lots and lots of tent caterpillars when we were in Kenora, a small town in Ontario, Canada, all those creepy crawlies everywhere, covering outdoor walls, tire wheels, benches, hanging from trees..makes you squirm looking at them. I do not know how they remove it..or maybe they just try if they can, such a huge army of those caterpillars.

I feed mine to the birds.