Sandy, those laughers are really cute. I've always wanted to find one, but don't have many oak trees around here. One just happens to be growing beneath an elm, so I'm letting it develop into a larger tree in hopes of providing cat food! Teehee. Susan

But I know exactly how you feel because a number of years ago I lost almost every Anise Swallowtail butterfly cat to a parasite that would kill the cat usually within the first or second instar, probably the second, in the same way. I would watch the cat feed normally for a while and then it would stop eating and just sit motionless for days and then one day it would be still sitting on the stem but looking sort of shrivelled up and there nearby would be a tiny beige cocoon. It would not have bothered me so much had it not taken all but one cat over an entire season. I almost gave up on the butterfly stuff after that season. Unfortunately, I live in a somewhat agricultural environment so there is not much one can do if people decide to import preditory insects to control what they consider pests. The worst part of the experience was that the cats had come from a number of places in my area and had nevertheless managed to come in contact with the same parasites. For awhile I feared that the Anise Swallowtails might never survive or that the other butterflies would be killed off also. Thank God I was wrong. I have not had the problem since. I don't know what to say beyond that except that I am not capable of being neutral about the whole food chain thing. It is what it is. Murray

Well the larvae/worm is a light greenish color and very very small. I first saw it when I was wondering to myself why the leaves on my sunflowers were turning brown and wilting. So I happened to look at the leaves towards the sun and could see the larvae/worm inside the leaf wriggling around. I have been squishing them inside the leaves so far and seems that is the only way to contain them. I am wondering what bug is laying the eggs to for these larvae. They can't be more than 1/8 in long and light to pale green. It is just real weird and I have noticed that they are in some of my other seedlings leaves. Seems they like young plants. I would describe them as almost like a leafminer except they don't leave a trail in the leaves, they just eat everything they can.

That's a pupal case of a caterpillar. When the adult emerges, it will be a moth.