The Large Yellow Underwing Moth (LYUM) lays its eggs in odd places late in the summer - screens, wire mesh, bird netting, asparagus fronds, windows - and in my case, every single jute string supporting my vining tomatoes were covered in these eggs.

They hatch into big fat caterpillars that feed on kale all winter long!

Linda Gilkeson: "The eggs look like hundreds of tiny white or grey beads, laid in disorganized masses or along the strands of mesh or wire. Unlike other moth species that lay eggs on plants their caterpillars eat, LYUM moths lay eggs anywhere. When they hatch the caterpillars drop to whatever foliage is available as they can feed on a wide range of plants. Over the winter, these grow into those fat climbing cutworms that do so much damage to leaves of vegetables. Photo: http://www.lindagilkeson.ca/leaf_chewers.html#25 "