Caterpillars
By Mobee
Armagh Ireland,
Ireland 
Hi all i had noticed the leaves on my Honeysuckle were slowly been eaten 2 to 3 feet from the base of the plant but the bottom leaves are turning mouldy black colour found culprit tonite,caterpillars any advice on sprays i could use, and do i remove bad leaves.Thanks......
11 Aug, 2009
Answers
Thanks for info Fractal.will go and get some sort of spray.Haven`t seen any more Caterpillars on leaves,so hoping its a mild case of mould:~))))
13 Aug, 2009
Hi Mobee. There are several brands of insecticide that are quite effective in killing caterpillars. Your local GC or Wilko's will have them.
The blackening of the lower leaves might be the after effects of mildew though it might just be from the activities of aphids feeding on stems higher up. The sugary stuff they squirt out onto lower leaves and stems often gets infected by sooty mould.
The only other thing it might be that comes to mind is that they are just old leaves that are about to drop. Being at the bottom, they possibly were produced at the beginning of the season and so drop first.
12 Aug, 2009