22-04-2025, 11:34 AM
(21-04-2025, 07:30 PM)Oh_hunnihunni Wrote: Yes, my first thought was for my monarchs. Having just got a clutch to maturity I would be wary of losing them. Good to know though, if spot treating fails. And I might just hold off on seedling planting till we get a decent chill. With luck they are only foraging in a limited area and as the garden gets a really good south to north gale going the moths might have just hit the sheltered spot where I found the wreckage. All digits crossed.
But we shall see.
Looking at the MPI link - it's about Fall armyworm which is a new arrival and MPI were rightly concerned about its spread, although it looks like they have accepted that it is now here to stay. Looking at iNaturalist (https://inaturalist.nz/taxa/132468-Spodo...frugiperda), it has reports over a lot of the country but not many, and only one in the Auckland area.
On the other hand, the similar Tropical armyworm (https://inaturalist.nz/taxa/124875-Spodoptera-litura) has been here much longer, is also very widespread and clearly very common over the mid to upper North Island. It's more likely to be the one you have. A photo on your phone can be uploaded to iNat for a proper ID (you'll need a login, but joining up opens up a whole new world of interaction with nature).
For both links, click on the green "View all" to see where the reports have come from. If you do upload yours, make sure you obscure your location to keep your home address private.
We had tropical armyworms in the garden a couple of years ago and a few caterpillars have popped up again this year. Yes, they eat plants like any other, but at least are big enough to be easily seen and dispatched. The spray mentioned above is very good to know and is probably an important resource for large or commercial crops, but even though it targets just moths, it is still targeting all moths so interrupting the biological balance. I think in the home garden dealing with caterpillars manually is all that needs to be done. I check under leaves when I'm in the garden and also when I'm out looking for snails at night. Although something that also gets the white butterflies may be worth a second thought....