Catharanthus (Madagascar Periwinkle) and The Clearwing Hummingbird Moth

One day I saw the baby plant growing beside the bougainvillea. by the front gate.  I can recognize the leaves as they are rather distinct looking. Now the  Periwinkle  has  spread to other locations as well. They propagate through seeds, dispersed by the wind.  I have not disturbed them in view of the recent interests on this plant  for medicinal use.   Quote : "The plant has been used for centuries to treat diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, constipation and menstrual problems. More recently, extracts from Madagascar periwinkle have been shown to be effective in the treatment of various kinds of leukemia, skin cancer, lymph cancer, breast cancer and Hodgkin's disease. Indeed, Madagascar periwinkle is a modern day success story in the search for naturally occurring anticancer drugs" - http://www.floridata.com/ref/c/cath_ros.cfm . Surfing the internet, one can read many articles on the plant used as traditional medicine in areas where this plant grows naturally.  I  found  the following articles interesting.

1) -  http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/medmuseum/galleryexhibits/naturespharmacy/periwinkleplant/periwinkle.html

2) http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/pow/Madagascar_periwinkle.htm

3) http://www.ecosensorium.org/2009/09/traditional-ethnoherbological-and.html

4) http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_periwinkle.htm

The Madagascar Periwinkle  is a remarkable plant indeed. It may be a  common plant,  but  research has proven its  medicinal value  to mankind. It is a nice plant and blooms really well.  The pink color is  very sweet looking. I have seen other colors as well - white, red and a deeper red. I rather liked the  deep red ones, however those are not very common. Since it grows so well by itself,  I did not have to pay attention to it.   There was  this  once I spied caterpillars all over this plant.   These caterpillars were rather verocious eaters and there were so many of them !  My daughter did some searching around in the internet and told me they were the caterpillars of the Clearwing Hummingbird Moth.

 Below are  pictures of the caterpillar and the Clearwing Hummingbird Moth.  My daughter  captured one of these caterpillars and  was successful in 'caring for it until it transformed into a cocoon and finally emerged  as the moth.   Nowadays I don't kill these caterpillars anymore as this moth is such a beauty!    The first time I saw one of these moths I  really thought it was a Hummingbird from the way it moved !  

Face Front  --- coming, coming, coming..Cute!

This is the tail end ... with a tail !

What a Beauty !

So these days I do not simply destroy caterpillars when they attack my  plants - I sent them for verification  first ...... lol!!    So if you happen to visit me one day and see all those big clear glass jars  with some soil, plant material  covered with a netting  -  these are the caterpillars sanctuaries.....