Oleander caterpillar, does it meant that they will live on oleander? Just checked online, only to read that oleander is one of the most toxic plants in the world?? We have quite a number of oleander here, but never seen any that invested by caterpillars

I can attest to the fact that the Oleander caterpillar infests, defoliates and yet doesn't kill the plant. Here in central Florida many municipalities and even the federal government used this plant as an attractive large shrub in public areas like parks, library grounds and in the medians of highways. The practice has been stopped as it was discovered that all parts of the plant are toxic to humans including smoke from burning plants. Nerium oleander is probably mediterranean in origin (it is mentioned in old roman texts) but cultivated all around the world. It was introduced into Florida by Spanish explorers and the Oleander moth (likely a caribbean native) soon followed. Amazingly, the moth and its caterpillars seem to prefer Adenium to Nerium when both are available. I say this from my own experience. If the adenium in my yard are actively growing then the moth ignores the Nerium and the Adenium get all the eggs. I do have two only two oleander but hundreds of desert roses so maybe my experience would be different if the numbers were reversed. One last thing, the toxic chemical compound in Nerium is the same as that which causes Adenium to be toxic.
Here's a site that covers the Oleander Moth in Florida. Note that it doesn't mention Adenium
https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/cre...

for the info. I like the look of the moth but I was surprised when it defoliated my multi-color adenium.

saw somewhere in the professional journal literature about adeniums....suggests that the "Oleander moth" may be responsible for adenium pollination ...

adenium may also be a host plant for Oleander caterpillars ...

might be better to "relocate" Oleander caterpillars rather exterminate them


aphids and scale have several stages in their life cycle ....can kill off one stage - only to have another stage follow it within a week / month

insecticidal soap disrupts the life cycles of both aphids and scale ....

can buy insecticidal soap ...for insects ....
or make your own "multipurpose" (not just for insects) from Castile soap - unscented .... the Peppermint can be used as a mouthwash ... and without the damaging effects of alcohol or hydrogen peroxide ....
the difference = simple fatty acids found in many plants

I think you are right about the pollination of the adeniums by the Oleander moths because I do see them go inside the adeniums blooms. I've had more baby seedpods now that I've seen a lot of Oleander moths and caterpillars in my adeniums. Aside of course from my hand pollinations. I have been transferring the caterpillars in our grassy patch of lawns. Not sure if they eat other types of grass.

I know I am not successful in hand pollinating the multi petals but noticed some baby seedpods on some that I didn't try to hand pollinate. Too bad, they will most likely just fall off, especially now that I stopped watering.

I have never seen the Oleander "wasp" moth (the one that all the above caterpillar pictures are of) ever enter an Adenium flower tube or ever even land on a flower (and they are day flyers). I have seen various types of bees in flower tubes and it is likely that thrips might wander in and out of the pollination areas, both of which may cause a self pollination and the bee of course could fly amongst flowers causing a cross pollination. I have seen these moths deposit eggs on the underside of leaves.

@deepsouth There is an Oleander "hawk" moth that has been seen flying about Adenium swazicum in its natural habitat at dusk and this could be a natural pollinator. We do have that moth here and it could be the Oleander moth that you are referring to although its larvae and mature form are very different than the above pictures.

If anyone feels strongly about relocating these orange and black caterpillars remember that they need greenery related to Adenium such as Oleander or possibly Plumeria. There are many pictures online of the Oleander Wasp Moth pollinating various flowers from many genera.

Recently I have seen caterpillars of the Spotted Oleander (wasp) Moth on some of my Adenium leaves but I have never seen a mature moth of this type. This moth has been in south Florida for quite some time.

i might be wrong, but I think the Oleander "hawk" moth, is a Oleander moth predator ... in much the same way as ladybug larvae a predator to aphids ...
But both (Oleander "hawk" moth and Oleander moth) could be adenium pollinators (perhaps even rivals)

I've seen both the orange wasp moth and the bluish spotted oleander moths on my adeniums.

I have seen more wasps than bees visiting my adeniums. I think mostly they are attracted to the blooms of the "succulents" that I strategically placed near the multi-petal blooms. I think that's how the multi petals blooms got pollinated because the blooms were too tight to hand pollinate and I don't like tearing up the blooms.

I have the big "night" moths - sphinx? They pollinate my plumerias. I noticed two huge seedpods on my plumerias.

see more hummingbirds than all insects combined ...... almost certain they have nothing to do with pollination

deepsouth said: see more hummingbirds than all insects combined ...... almost certain they have nothing to do with pollination

I want to see hummingbirds! I have never seen them here. Once our fence is up, I will plant more hummingbird friendly plants.

here, hummingbirds are almost full time residents ...more so in south Louisiana ....and it helps we are in a migration flyway .....so northern state hummingbirds, stop-in for a brief lay over as they fly to Mexico and central America....

red and pink colors will attract hummingbirds ...

put up hummingbird feeders....at first, use red dye in the feeders ....about mid summer you can leave out the red dye ...

Very few hummingbirds in this county. I've only seen two in the last ten years. I've seen more than that at the USF Botanical Gardens, only twenty miles across the bay, and I'm only there three or four times a year.

they love hibiscus ...... seem to favor tubular flowers ...nectar being too deep for butterflies ..?

some people plant for butterflies ....same with hummingbirds ..... the key, once they are attracted to your spot they will return year after year

timing can be a thing too - for those "passing through".........hang feeders to keep them around a little longer

deepsouth said: they love hibiscus ...... seem to favor tubular flowers ...nectar being too deep for butterflies ..?

some people plant for butterflies ....same with hummingbirds ..... the key, once they are attracted to your spot they will return year after year

timing can be a thing too - for those "passing through".........hang feeders to keep them around a little longer

I have a tall pink hibiscus and 2 tall yellow hibiscus. I need to add red hibiscus and maybe hang a lot of red tubular plants. Without a fence, our backyard looks huge but it limits what I can plant. Hoping to get a fence up soon so I can strategically plant what I want without having to worry about neighbors calling HOA on me.

want to see them up close ? .... wear a red, orange or pink hat .... and try to be still

deepsouth said: want to see them up close ? .... wear a red, orange or pink hat .... and try to be still

Awwww I saw this video about a lady that has attracted a lot of hummingbirds.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=...

Now I know why I don't have hummingbirds, USF Botanical has them

GigiPlumeria said: Now I know why I don't have hummingbirds, USF Botanical has them

This made me laugh:

Rainbow said:

GigiPlumeria said: Does it mean just taking it off from the pot and letting it hang dry? I know Aashna did it on her adenium but not sure if it cured it.

Updated: oops it means removing it totally, which might mean get rid of the desert rose with MV.

You mean curing of MV? Hulk is doing pretty well. Don't know what worked for it. Whether it's hanging or bonemeal. But I feel bonemeal did the job as within a month of application I saw clean green leaves.