Wow, sorry to hear about your Monarda, I hope this horsemint caterpillar doesn't invade my patches of bee balm!

So far the plain red Monarda didyma is the first to open and it seems okay. Finally saw the resident hummingbird on it yesterday.

My beebalm has always had caterpillars. This year I have some beebalm quite a distance from my original spot, and voila! No caterpillars there. I was amazed by how much better they look. I had no idea what those caterpillars were...I'm off to google them.

capecodder, were they gross white cats? More like tiny worms? Becauee that's what I get.

I'm hoping by cutting off all the blooms, I'm also removing all the eggs since they hatch inside the flower.

I've had these horsemint caterpillars for about 5 years and I'm finally throwing in the towel. I've tried BT, hand squishing, removing the 1st buds for a second bloom, (that was probably the most effective) but nothing close to how it used to look. I don't want to use a pesticide on something that the bees go to. I'm going to take it out. Very sad.

rosechafer, I don't seem to have the problem every year. Last year I was fine, five years ago I wqs not.

I don't want to use a pesticide on something that the bees go to.

Good to hear.

Sorry to hear about your monarda. This year I have a large patch of 'ground cover' monarda because the local deer have develop quite the appetite for it even passing up hosta and phlox in order to graze on the monarda!

trove, it just proves that you never know with deer. After all, conventional wisdom is they pass up anything in the mint family including monarda.

I am finding that with deadheading, the rebloom is not anywhere near as likely to have the caterpillars.