Chaos ensued in my mother’s garden two Sundays ago when these creatures were spotted. Four fierce-looking worms straight out of a science fiction movie. They were as long as my ring finger, oozing green goo, plump and juicy after having feasted on the leaves/stalks/fruits of my mom’s cherry tomatoes. I screamed. My three-year-old ran from her grandmother’s side to me. But because I was just as scared as she was, she fled whimpering back into the house. My mother rushed after her.  Startled, Rupert, my son, pulled his hands away from the tomatoes he was picking. Then he jumped up and down, all the while saying “Uggh! Uggh! Uggh! Uggh!”.

When calm and order was restored, I picked them up with tongs and put them in a glass jar. They could be butterfly caterpillars. Who knows… It would be nice to see them go through their metamorphosis. My kids would enjoy that. Feisty critters. They won’t go without a fight. When they felt the tongs touch them, they quickly raised the front ends of their bodies and turned to face the metal implement. Fighting stance. Then they lunged forward to attack it. That’s Manduca Sexta for you, a.k.a. Tobacco Hornworm, the natural pest of tomato plants. It is green with seven white diagonal stripes on both sides of its body, and a red curved tail that looks like a horn. You will also see it feeding on potatoes, eggplants, and tobacco.

Two days after their capture they stopped moving, shrank, and turned brown. I was worried that maybe they’re sick or dying. I learned , after searching the internet, that they’re in their prepupation stage, getting ready for the big change. So now we’re just waiting. I don’t know when they will get their wings. Hopefully we’ll get to see them fluttering about in the plastic container that used to belong to our turtle, Mojo. They’re not going to turn into pretty, multi-colored butterflies like I hoped they would. The Manduca Sexta is a caterpillar that transforms into a plain, and not-so-pretty brown moth called Caroline Sphinx. That’s okey though. We’ll still keep them til they  spread their wings. It’s not everyday that you get to see a miracle of nature. I’m really tempted to squash them. They’re gonna mature and breed more garden pests. But my friends told me that even pests have a role in ecology and that I should put them back in their natural habitat. Huh!  I’m thinking- the friends who said that have never had a plant eaten up by worms with insatiable appetites. So, here I go again with my worm issues. I’m so getting tired of this.

]]> http://chiquibaylon.net/2009/11/garden-pests/feed/ 5 http://chiquibaylon.net/2008/08/making-mosaics-in-iloilo/ http://chiquibaylon.net/2008/08/making-mosaics-in-iloilo/#comments Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:21:23 +0000 Chiqui http://chiquibaylon.net/?p=200  

Nice, huh? What you think? It’s a bit too photographic-looking and not stylized enough like the Byzantine mosaics I admire, but I like it nevertheless.

This one was done by an Ilonggo artist, RJ Juarez.  He lives in Barotac Nuevo and  finished a business course at UP Visayas. He does this type of work for a living and promotes it out of a  small store space at the upperground floor of SM City Iloilo. (I wonder how he’s coping after Typhoon Frank flooded the shopping center?)  

The huge mosaic above is the image of St. Anthony de Padua, patron saint of the Barotac Nuevo parish church.  It was  donated by the artist to his hometown. Pretty generous of him! What makes this and all his other works noteworthy is that he sources his materials from trash and construction scraps. That must be very time-consuming and difficult. Smelly. Dirty. If you’re just rummaging through garbage bags for the materials you need, how can you be sure you’ll have enough for your work? My hat goes off to him! He is living the green ideal.  I hope he keeps it up.

Just a while ago, I was surfing the National Geographic website and I found something that upset me again.  I didn’t know that palm oil’s presence in my way of life is so pervasive. I already gave up three things, now I have to give up my cookies!  (For the majority of people in the Philippines who are suffering from rice shortage, this must really be a laughable kind of angst! I think so too. What else is a housewife with limited exposure to the world supposed to rant and rave about?! )  

My son is going to be very disappointed when I tell him that we have to stop buying Oreos because they use palm oil, but he would definitely understand if I explain to him that people in Indonesia are cutting down forests to make way for the palm oil being used in his cookies. He’ll be outraged when he hears that Sumatran Rhinos, which are endangered, might be soon become extinct because of these events.  Rhinos are his favorite animal.  Whenever we go to the library he only borrows books about rhinos. I have learned so many things about them because he makes me read those books to him before we sleep at night. Just this Sunday I bought a box of pecan cookies from Keebler.  And Pepperidge Farm is another culprit! I can’t believe it.  That’s my trusted brand!  Their cookies are superior to anything else on the supermarket shelves. I buy them when I feel generous with myself.  Why do you have to take them away from me!!!!  I hate you palm oil!  

I think we have to write some more letters. If you want to feel empowered, click this link:http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/int/palmoil 

I’m talking about Dove the beauty product brand from Unilever. Never thought that beauty could come at such a terrible price.  I have decided to stop using Dove soaps and shampoos. In fact I will ban all Unilever products from my household.  What you think ’bout that corporate giant?  And I will tell everybody I can get hold of to do the same thing.  

I came upon the Greenpeace Southeast Asia website when I was researching some stuff for my son who wants to be a conservationist. They pointed out that Unilever is the largest consumer of palm oil in the world. It gets its supply from Indonesia, where they destroy millions of hectares of tropical rainforests  to make way for plantations. The news hit me hard.  My pediatrician recommended the soap when my baby  was a week old.  I better tell him about this.  I am a loyal Dove consumer. “Trusted brand ko na ito.” All this time I never knew that I was financing the demise of  large tracts of wildlife habitats and contributing to global warming!  Shame on me! Shame on you Unilever!  

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/forests/asia-pacific/dove-palmoil-action

What now?   What to do?  What to do?  Make a personal letter to the following people below: patrick.cescau@unilever.com, Kees.Vandergraaf@unilever.com, ralph.kugler@unilever.com, lettemieke.mulder@unilever.com, jan-kees.vis@unilever.com, doveaction@greenpeace.org

Letter-writing doesn’t sound like a very impressive action on our part, right? Well, it’s better than nothing.

Looking for good ideas? Wannabe earth saviours can try this book.

I’m trying to be relevant here, being just like everyone else talking about environmental concerns. Earth Day, afterall, is just two days away, on April 22.

Scary, isn’t it? When they talk about global warming on TV, I think, “This planet is going to the dogs. God had better destroy everything and create a new one.” I know I sound like an endtime enthusiast, or worse, a cult member awaiting Armageddon. After a few minutes my fears start to subside and my thinking goes back on track. What can little old me do? With two kids to raise, I can’t go to the rainforests to save some cuddly animal. I barely have enough for my family’s needs (my rent lease contract is expiring and my landlord is raising the rent again); how can I donate a decent amount to some charitable foundation? After a few hours my mind switches to “I don’t care” mode.  

Last week I came across a tiny book entitled “1,001 Ways to Save the Earth” by Joanna Yarrow, published by Chronicle Books. I remembered my youngest sister. Years ago I gave her some shampoo packaged in tiny sachets. She’s a sucker for freebies(who isn’t), but she would never accept it. She explained that products with too much packaging are bad for the environment. “And what am I supposed to do with what I have? Throw it away unused?”, I answered. I told her to just use it for now because it’s already been bought. No amount of reasoning would make her take it. So I stomped away fuming mad. When I saw this book I just had to get it for her. Then I thought maybe I should get one for myself too. I guess it’s time for me to do my part. As I stood there debating whether I should buy just one or two, my children were pulling me in different directions, wanting me to check out what they wanted for themselves. “Great!”, I thought. I went into the store to get some lightbulbs, but came out with two books, a Hannah Montana CD, a Marvel Comic book, and some other things that were not on my agenda.    

I’ve started reading and so far so good. I’m on No. 252. The green tip that really stuck with me was: Save energy by cleaning out your refrigerator. If you clear out all the old food that’s gathering mold, you’ll find what you’re looking for in the fridge quicker. You don’t have to open the door too long and waste energy. I never thought of that before! Another good energy-saving tip is: don’t put hot foods in the fridge. I’ve always known this, but I couldn’t understand the reason behind it so I never really cared. The book explained that the heat from the food raises the temperature inside so that the refrigerator has to work harder, hence eating up more energy.

I think I made a good purchase, and just in time for earth day, too. I still have a long way to go before I finish reading all the 1,001 planet-saving ideas. And when I’m done, to make my green transformation complete, I’m going to visit the useful websites that are listed at the back portion of the book. My sister will be so happy to know that I’m babystepping my way along the path that she has tread.