Congrats, Mostone! That is so cool to find caterpillars on the plants at the nurseries. I have ended up buying way more fennel and rue because of finding cats. Be prepared that the butterfly may not emerge this year. I still have a chrysalis from last year! I have several butterfly cages made from large clear plastic containers (pretzels, animal crackers from Sams Club). I cut out 3 of the sides, leaving the corners for stability, and covered the holes with screen material using clear silicone bathroom caulk for "glue". These are easily sterilized between batches of cats. It is very important to sterilize cages and utensils for the monarchs, they are very susceptible to OE spore and viruses. (To sterilize: make a weak bleach solution and soak for 15-20 minutes and rinse well with water.) Enjoy the new obsession, it is very rewarding. Mechelle

Rachel, I used Brush Killer, undiluted. There are different brands but it will say 'Brush Killer' on the container. I believe Basic RoundUp is a different product. I see RoundUp now offers a combined mixture that supposedly kills brush, ivy, etc. too. I don't know how well it might work on stem cuttings. When I googled Brush Killer, several items popped up; Bayer Advanced Brush Killer Plus Concentrate, Southern Ag Brush Killer, etc. I think the product I used was made by Bayer. Remember not to dilute the product, just pour a bit of the product into a throw a way cup or something with a broad flat bottom where you can set it down without fear of it overturning, like an empty plastic milk container with the top cut out, anything that will work for you and can be disposed of following your work session. Soak the cotton balls and apply one cotton ball to each freshly cut stem, cover with a plastic sandwich baggie, secure tightly with a strong rubber band and you're done. Be safe. Secure the pets while you're working. Wear good hand and eye protection. I usually doubled the gloves I wore and then threw them away after each work session. Be careful when handling the product. When the weather is warm, I usually noticed wilting within a day and then over time, the plant dies and dries out. I had such a mess of these vines coming up out in my lawn and coming up in my garden beds. Nothing I tried worked until I used the cotton balls. The vines had created a garden nightmare for me. Good luck. You will be so relieved when these things die off. Mary

Here in Niskayuna, we had the caterpillars last year and this year as well.....same thing......tons of little green ones at first, and then black ones. It does sound like it is raining in our back yard too.....quite nasty. My neighbor said that he thought they came in cycles of about every 7 years and we hoped we wouldn't get them this year, but they are back and in even greater numbers it seems. They don't seem to attack too many of the flowers, but are eating the trees up something fierce. We've had them now for a couple of weeks and we seem to remember that they stay for about a month and then seem to disappear. Another neighbor of mine said that after they are gone we get the second invasion......the japanese beetle which WILL eat all the flowers. We've got grubs, and haven't been able to get rid of them, so I'm not looking forward to that either. I did pick up some japanese beetle traps last year, so hopefully I can save some of my garden. ~Deb

Not New England aster, though I'm not sure what it is. Any flowers or buds?