How to put this nicely.... That's excrement from a critter that fed there. Could be grasshopper or beetle, which doesn't narrow things down much. Probably somebody that got trapped by the rain and decided to eat what was there. Wash well.

To put it bluntly, caterpillar poop. they loves leaves. You could use floating row cover to avoid eggs that then hatch into the leaf-eating caterpillars.

Thanks for the replies!

So I guess the next thing is to find the caterpillars and deal with them .
Any suggestions on a treatment ?

Since you already have them it is too late to use row covers. So pretty much the standard treatment for caterpillars in the garden is Bt. Lots of posts here on it if you want to read through them.

It is sold in most any garden center under the brand names Dipel (dust) or Thuricide (liquid).

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Bacillus thuringiensis

Heres our culprit

{{gwi:51027}}

Row cover is helpful against ADDITIONAL egg laying. Beyond that, search-and-destroy is in order.

It is called a cabbage looper.

I have had luck using both BT and a similar product called Spinosad. But row cover is the best defense.

WOW !!!
Im AMAZED at the fast response and reasonable suggestions
given here from so many gardeners.
I will grab this "Bt" today and following its directions , begin treatment . Im going to post the garden pics to
get your suggestions on this "row cover" technique .
so Ill be back later today with pix .
THANK YOU GW !

{{gwi:51028}}
{{gwi:51029}}

Ok , so how would you get this infestation under control ?
I have simpson lettuce just inches from this mesclun , going
up the right side .
Please help me prevent this from getting in the lettuce .

oops, can't see your new pics.

If you do some reading up on cabbage loopers - either here or via Google - you will discover they are the larvae of a moth that lays eggs on your plants. So you have to prevent the moths landing on your crops. Row covers are nothing more than a floating piece of fabric (search 'row cover' here too for all the details) that lays on the crop and blocks the moths.

There are many grades of row cover material and many use just plain tulle fabric from Walmat. All you have to do is lightly drape it over the lettuce or such.

But you already have eggs laid in yours and larvae hatched so you will need to use the Bt too.

Dave

So , Yeah ....
All my Lettuce is now infested .

Tracked down the Thuricide and applied it as directed except used a squeeze of detergent instead of mollasses to give it some stick . Bad thing is its about to rain and going into night .
Prolly retreat it after it dries up some . Meanwhile my wasps have been having a field day on these loopers , so it aint all that bad i guess .
Ill check in with an update in a week or so , thanks for the help GW'rs !

back already !
Morning after treatment , no signs of fresh looper poo.
however ,my 2 tomatos are slightly wilting and showing some
tiny red spots under the leaves . it rained last night and the past few days have been bright and sunny with afternoon & evening showers (nice , I Know !)The rest of my garden that isnt lettuce seems not to like this bt much as there are similar symptoms on the peas , cucumbers , beans , watermelons , and peppers .
Being a noob and all , I still dont think this is gonna harm them too bad . If they start looking real sick , I will prolly attempt to wash the bt from the bottom of the leaves .I work at home and can luckily monitor these beds all day .
Thanks again for the help