@bhart90
Brenden, My Fennel is in a large container. Not really suitable for moving indoors. I don't have the time to tend to caterpillars and feed them by hand. I need the balance of caterpillars to the plant. That worked really well the first two years.
@GrammaChar
How do you mean relocating it. Do you have more than one source for the Fennel? If no wheelbugs are lying around to ambush them, in the past they've been pretty efficient at moving around the Fennel in the container without my help. My Fennel has done well and are reasonably large plants now. I have to give them water every day without fail or they'll just lay down, but, last year, mine got eaten way past the stage you have in your photo. I knew it wasn't good even before they reached the stage of your photo. I thought I'd taken photos, but I can't find any. Not a pleasant photography subject, I guess.
@mellielong
"It's like they can't judge the size of the plant correctly." Yes, exactly like that. They'll be back again, I think. And I did find the one living caterpillar today, so maybe it will survive to the end. I didn't find a wheelbug today, so maybe they have relocated to greener pastures. As in lots of wildlife, the mortality rate for the young is high, I'm sure. The wheelbugs are just doing what they do naturally. I'd be ecstatic if it was cutworms they were chowing down on for their meals
