What do green caterpillars eat?

What do green caterpillars eat? The answer depends on the type of the green caterpillar, different green caterpillars eats different plants. There are a lot of species of green caterpillars out there, the one you found can be both, butterfly and moth caterpillar. Below we’ll describe the most widespread green caterpillars and their foods.

Cabbage White is probably the most widespread green caterpillar. As you can guess by the name, it eats cabbage leaves and loves different types of cabbage, and it’s the cabbage where such caterpillars are commonly found. They eat: Cabbage (B. o. capitata), Broccoli (Brassica oleraceae italica), Cauliflower (B. o.botrytis), Brussel Sprouts (B. o. gemmifera), Flowering Kale (Brassica oleraceae acephala), as well as Turnip, Radish, Yellowcress, Nasturtium, Prairie Pepperweed.

Black Swallowtail caterpillar is green with black and yellow spots. This green caterpillar eats parsley, dill, fennel and rue: Wild Chervil (Cryptotaenia canadensis), Water-Parsnip (Berula erecta), Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata), Water- Parsnip (Sium suave), Leaf-Less Cowbane (Oxypolis filiformis), Mock Bishop’s Weed (Ptilimnium capillaceum), Forked Scaleseed (Spermolepis divaricata)

Tiger Swallowtail is all green and sometimes hardly visibly on green leaves or twigs. This green caterpillar eats Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), Choke-cherry (Prunus virginiana), White Ash (Fraxinus americana), Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), American Plum (Prunus americana), Plum (Prunus domestica), Birch (Betula spp.), Carolina Basswood (Tilia americana), Apple (Malus pumila), Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), Sassafras (Sassafras albidum), Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) and other trees found in the above genre.

Orange Sulphur caterpillars are green, in spite of the name. They eat: White and Red Clover, Ground Plum (Astragalus crassicarpus), Wild Indigo (Baptisa sp.),Platte River Milk-Vetch (Astragalus plattensis), Bush Clovers (Lespedeza sp.), Pursh’s Deer Vetch (Lotus unifoliolatus), Black Medick (Medicago lupulina), Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Yellow Sweet-Clover (Melilotus officinalis), White Sweet-Clover (Melilotus albus), Coffee-Bean (Sesbania herbacea), Common Vetch (Vicia sativa).

Sleepy Orange caterpillars eat Coffee Senna (S. occidentalis), Candlestick Tree (Cassia alata), Wild Senna (Senna marilandica), Lindheimer’s Senna (S. lindheimeriana), Two Leaf Senna (S. roemeriana), Argentine Senna (S. corymbosa), Coffeeweed (S. obtusifolia), Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata).

Goatweed caterpillar feeds on plants from Corton family: Doveweed (Croton monanthogynus), Wooly Croton (Croton capitatus), Texas Croton (Croton texensis), Three-Seed Croton (C. lindheimerianus)

Horace’s Duskywings are green caterpillars with red head that eat oak leaves: Plateau Blackjack Oak (Q. marilandica), Live Oak (Quercus fusiformis), Water Oak (Q. nigra), Texas Red Oak (Q. buckleyi), Willow Oak (Q. phellos), Live Oak (Q. virginiana), Chinqapin Oak (Q. muehlenbergii), Shumard’s Oak (Q.shumardii), Black Oak (Q. velutina), Southern Red Oak (Q. falcata), Post Oak (Q. stellata).

Soapberry Hairstreak is a green caterpillar that actually looks like a tiny piece of soap of candy. This green caterpillar eats Western Soapberry.

pha canescens), Black Dalea (Dalea frutescens), Soy Bean (Glycine max).