I Used to Think Inchworms Were Cute. Not Anymore.

Inchworm (photo credit: Katja Schulz via Wikimedia)

Perhaps I was swayed by the appearance of multiple inchworms on Sesame Street. Remember Slimey, Oscar the Grouch’s orange striped inchworm? They were best buddies. Green inchworms and a glowworm also show up on Sesame Street. In a classic song, an inchworm helps Muppets measure marigolds in a field. Can you blame me for thinking inchworms are cute, helpful, and friendly?

Let me back up. First, I should tell you that my oncidium “dancing ladies” is blooming again, and for the first time ever has thrown two flower spikes (one is in bloom and the other is a couple weeks behind). I counted 37 flowers on the first spike and I proudly set the plant in the middle of the kitchen table for everyone to admire. 

I noticed weird stuff on the leaves on a couple of occasions—it looked it bit like dirt, except it was redder in color. I brushed it off and didn’t think much of it until I noticed something even more strange—a flower that wasn’t a flower at all, and somehow only had the very tip left. I’d never seen anything like it. 

It became clear that something had stripped the flower petals. Initially I thought it was one of my cats. They’re usually good around my plants, but Hobbes in particular enjoys munching on flowers (especially morning glories in the backyard. Whatever, dude.) But it seemed too precise to be the work of a cat.

As I examined the plant more thoroughly, I found more clues. Something had eaten the “skirt” part of the petal from the bloom pictured above. And something had munched on this petal, too. The bite(s) is definitely not the work of a cat!

It took a while for me to spot them because they blended in with the green stems of the plant so well, but eventually I found two tiny green inchworms on the orchid. I also noticed that my silver squill, which hangs right above the orchid, had some bite holes too. I found a third inchworm on that plant. Inchworms are the larvae of the geometer moth, and while they’re cute, they’re also infamous leaf-eaters. These hungry, hungry caterpillars eat pretty much any and every type of leaf outside—or, as I learned, inside. 

I’m a little annoyed at myself for not noticing earlier. I wonder how many times I wiped the table without seeing the signs. The weird dirt I’d wiped off the orchid leaves? That wasn’t dirt. It was inchworm poop (you can see it in the photo below). How gross! And what audacity, to eat the orchid flowers AND poop all over!

I should have been more careful when I brought in my plants for the fall. I try to inspect and clean them thoroughly before bringing them back inside, but clearly I missed something here. I don’t know if all three inchworms hitched rides on a plant or if one came in and had babies, which means I need to remain vigilant for signs of lingering inchworms. Not cute, worms. Not cute at all.

Inchworm poop plus flower remains on the table