Devouring A Tree

Ok, I admit, it's a baby tree, but these da*@#^%! caterpillars are basically eating the whole thing in one day! This is one of Saeed's newly planted trees near our back sidewalk. Yesterday we were home most of the day doing laundry, cleaning up, etc., when I walked down the sidewalk and saw what I thought were bright red berries on this little tree.

Look at those nice red berries!

Upon closer examination those were definitely not berries.

AAAAAAaaaaah! Yuk!
This was the view from the underside of the leaf.

They were systematically working their way from leaf to leaf.

When I got over my yuk reaction I decided they were actually quite beautiful: bright yellow with black-bordered white stripes and bright red shoulders and head. No camouflage here! Interestingly, many of them were holding their rear ends up as if posing gracefully in a dance position. I too had to position myself under the branch to take the pictures; as I was doing this I kept feeling little things dropping on my arm...

... oh great, caterpiller poop.

Well all that digested leaf material has to go somewhere!!

I came back in the house and did a couple of loads of laundry and then went out to hang a rug to dry. I thought I'd check on the tree.... where'd it go?

Oh. Great.

What, are the veins to tough for you guys?

I wondered where they all went? Here's is another branch of the same tree and it looks OK.... oh wait.... look at that leaf down towards the base of the branch. Do you see little dark heads peeking up over that chewed leaf?

Excuse me, those are REAR-ENDS poking up over that leaf.

I'm afraid to go out there this morning to see what's left, if anything, of our newest little ex-tree.