If you’re looking for a caterpillar — maybe for a school project or just for fun — then you might not need to look any further than your front yard. Spring is an perfect time to find caterpillars, but many can be found through autumn. You can have a look at several regions of the yard where you’re more likely to find caterpillars. If one place gives zero results, try another. If needed, you can even force caterpillars from their hiding, nesting or feeding locations.
Look on the tops and bottoms of leaves for caterpillars. They are more likely to feed young, immature growth and also on leaves of crops which are isolated from additional development, such as a solitary tree in the middle of the yard.
Notice if components of the leaves appear eaten. On trees, also look for leaves that are curly. A caterpillar may be feeding close damaged leaves or inside a rolled leaf. You may see one travel along the bark of a tree or stem of a plant, or in a crack or crevice of a branch.
Walk along the edge of your yard if any one of it borders a wooded place. Look on the grass and on the leaves of neighboring plants for caterpillars. You can also dig into the thatch on your yard where caterpillars may be hiding or appear in piles of decaying leaves, fruits or other vegetation.
Go out at night with a flashlight to search for caterpillars on the leaves, including on the undersides. Many caterpillars come out at night.
Expand a white sheet under a tree in your yard, then shake the tree or use a long rod or pole to tap on the branches. Caterpillars may fall from the tree and onto the sheet.