Safeguarding the future?

I'm always pleased to see a wild mullein plant (Verbascum thapsus) self-seeded in my veg plot. I like its furry leaves and the tall banana yellow flower spike that rises up in the summer.

So I was sorry to see, a few weeks ago, the plant infested with mullein moth caterpillars. They have also have striking yellow/black/white coloration to warn off would-be predators and they shredded the leaves until they looked like lace, leaving quantities of frass into the bargain. 

But now, the larvae having disappeared to pupate, I find that the flower spike is rising from the carnage unscathed and I'm wondering whether this is no accident. The caterpillars must avoid damaging the part of the plant needed to propagate more of itself. Without flowers to be fertilized and to produce seed there would be fewer food plants to munch in future.


(Roman soldiers are said to have dipped the dry mullein stalks in grease for use as torches. Other cultures use the leaves as wicks and for poultices. Native Americans and American colonists lined their shoes with leaves from the plant to keep out the cold. The leaves also make the best emergency loo paper, assuming that the emergency occurs in close proximity to a mullein plant - minus caterpillars.)