Well, I ended up letting the cats do their thing, and observed them 2 or 3 times a day. They went from one plant to the other, and then one by one disappeared. Either they got eaten by birds or turned into chrysalises. I ended up also posting about the cats in the Cottage Garden Forum where I frequent, and someone there informed me today, that if I'm growing leafy spurge, it's a noxious weed illegal to grow in NE. In my early research I had read that the moth cats feed on other spurges, as well, and from the description didn't think that's what I had. I did further research today, and came away unsure, so, since the cats were gone, went ahead and pulled up the plants. They had quite the root system, so maybe they were the weed. I can take comfort that I have two or three types of hummingbird type moths that frequent my garden in the evenings and mornings. This evening, I saw bunches of them! They like the same flowers hummingbirds do, and more. I am also enjoying a number of butterflies in my yard in the afternoons. Lately, I've been seeing Painted Ladies, Monarchs, and Sulphers. I have also been seeing skippers, but not as many in the last week or so. I've only raised a couple cats of butterflies when my kids were little. I did get into observing cats and watching them grow on my rue and dill this year. Thanks for your reply, Sue

I never find them until they are big fat guys. I read that 90% of their damage is in the last instar before turning to a pupa. I am not spraying for them unless the damage gets out of control. I am experimenting with garlic for a spray. I know it made the lacebugs leave my sun flower. I do not have directions for how to make it although I looked it up on line. I didn't measure just crushed some garlic in water and strained it then added more water in the sprayer. The sun flower area made me hungry the next day. I don't like to spray with Sevin unless I have to, but I will be spraying around my house today. Ants are getting in my cat and dog food so I will put it up and spray around the house.

Lisa, do you have anything in the grape family growing nearby? I find my cats on the Virginia Creeper. Beautiful cats, too! Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Eumorpha pandorus

University-based research has shown that such devices attract and kill more beneficial insects than insect pests.