I'll add that it's a BABY caterpillar! Just wait until you see what they grow up to be, lol! Of course, the bigger they are allowed to become, the more they will eat. These caterpillars, though disguised exceedingly well as a big gooey bird dropping, are a favorite treat of predatory animals (including wasps). I've not noticed that birds ignore them while they are still caterpillars...I guess that disguise works too well. However, once they pupate, birds really go after the chrysalises. I agree with Malcolm. Remove these insects by hand. They don't sting. And look for single, round, pearl-like eggs deposited on the upper side of leaves. They can be removed, too. I grow seedling citrus in containers strictly for the pleasure of watching the life cycle of the Giant Swallowtails. The gorgeous adults are plentiful in a blooming annual and perennial garden where they will nectar upon a wide range of flowers. Here is a link that might be useful: Just click for some neat pictures

Fig is a Celeste and I transplanted it to a terra cotta 24" pot because it was root bound. Today I found rusty spots on it which weren't there a couple of days ago.

I'd say the plant benefited from being given a rest. All plants, I opine, can benefit from being allowed to stop developing new leaves and especially new bloom. Your ? geranium evidently has gained health from being allowed to rest. Now is the time to bring it out to develop new leaves. Pinch back any bloom it might start to develop...it shoudn't be pushed to produce something that it cant possibly feed. If the plant is of size, I suggest you cut it back by 1/3 to 1/2, give it some new fresh potting soil...look to its drainage by putting some shards or other medium under the soil, into a pot of size....6"....8"....10"...then into the brightest window you can find. West or south is ideal...but east will do in a pinch. Water it well...til drainage is seen in the saucer below....allow full drainage, then dump the excess. Don't begin fertilizing until you have serious new growth of leaves...then do so...20/20/20 at half rate every 4th or 5th watering. Always allow the surface to dry to the touch before watering and water always to the point that drainage is seen. Then dump the excess. It shouldn't take more than a few weeks before new growth is seen...up the fertilizer as growth proceeds. You are in zone 7 D.C.....your spring arrives a bit sooner than mine in zone 5 Ontario. Normally this is done by me in mid February, when full growth is allowed to resume. Your plant, if allowed to grow full out at this time, might be too soon for your putting the plant outside so you'd be required to hold off putting it outside and treat it more like a houseplant. If you think you might hold off doing the cutting back until about mid to late January, the plant could be cut back at that time, then allow it to grow full out. Normally, in more southerly zones, you are advised to cut the plant back at the time they are brought in..before they are touched by frost....then again, cutting it back in January when they are allowed to grow their fullest. Its up to you, whether you wish to have the plant grow up too fast. Geraniums will indeed come back as good as ever....better in fact.

Leave it outdoors to recover. Don't prune off the top unless you know it's dead or can convince yourself there is another good reason to do so. Most growers have more trouble with buguglies indoors than out. There are a couple of reasons for that. The first is, there are usually no predators that feed on bugs indoors, and the plant's defenses are directly related to it's metabolic rate. A plant growing robustly outdoors is much better able to defend itself against insects/diseases than plants just getting by in a low light indoor setting. BTW - what's growing at the base might appear to be no more than leaves, but you'll soon find they're nascent branches. Al