what critter eats pansy petals??

[emmak]

Hoodat, I was thinking along those lines, but don't know of a caterpillar that munches the petals instead of the leaves. Not a neighbor or a child, it's in a rather secluded spot. Just waiting for them to go after my second basket.

 

[hoodat]

Fritilaries will eat petals first and then eat leaves when they get bigger. Some of the hairstreaks also eat flower petals. You may not even recognize hairstreak larvae as caterpillars. They are flat and look more like a sucking insect of some kind than the cats they really are. They often eat round holes in the petals rather than consuming in from the edge as other cats do. You might try a BT spray. If it's cats that will kill them but it often takes a few days to do it.