I wish we could post pictures here because...I have several cats, in at least 4 different stages, eating almost the entire supply of parsley in my herb garden. For two years in a row I have found monarch caterpillars on ivy plants in my backyard. the tiny worms now have black and yellow hairs about 1/4″ long. This week my milkweed is being difoilyaited by “T” Caterpillar. So, are we now to think that Monarch caterpillars eat tomato plants because we have found a chrysalis there? One summer my brother and I found a monarch caterpillar on a milkweed in the field at the end of the street, and brought it home. Peggy from Connecticut. So far this year the butterflies (all varieties) and bees have been extremely scarce even though I have many different flowers planted just for them. I have been searching on the internet to find what kind it is and I have not found out what it is. Good point! Having a bumper crop, I see 1-3 new adults every day for the last 4+ weeks & more to come. I’ll discard any leaves with eggs of tussock moths and milkweed bugs. Thank the Lord for supporting our efforts regarding this matter. Creepy creatures!! Once the monarch eggs hatch into caterpillars, they rely solely on milkweed for their nourishment. ALL Monarch Predators. But otherwise they look like monarchs. I had one attach right to a cherry tomato ? The adults of this species are nectivorous. That’s what these hairy protrusions look like–almost colorful bristles on a soft toothbrush extending from the caterpillars body. I have 25 large milkweed but unfortunately the caterpillars have devoured every leaf. Sincerely, Pat Flannery. Thank you, I was hoping to see some monarch caterpillars this year and was very excited to see that my milkweed plant had been stripped…but what I found under a bottom leaf was not what I expected! Photo by Kip Kiphart. Common milkweed plants grow to about 2 to 4 feet in height, with a thin, vertical growth habit. “Nobody had any idea what it was. Milkweed Tussock Moth, photo by Patrick Coin via Wikipedia. I live on Cape Cod in MA, we raised several Monarchs and also now have some inside. glad to say this year we found over 60 caterpillars from july 31 to sept 10, and let over 50 butterflies go. How to Grow Milkweed. The only Monarchs I’ve seen yet are the ones I released a few days ago. We have lots of Monarchs, too. This year I have seen the caterpillars. We live between Georgetown and Florence. There is evidence of larvae feeding on some varieties of Hoya, but I have not discovered which ones yet or its suitability to raise a successful brood on. Since I had practically no Monarchs this year, I am just letting them eat the milkweed. I’ve only seen 2 monarch caterpillars so far & they seem to have disappeared… Sadly, all our milkweeds are being stripped at a record pace…. Each time we’ve talked about Monarch Butterflies, I’ve told you about the need to plant more milkweed to help the Monarchs on this journey. We have so many milkweed in the area, I’m sure there’s enough for both the Monarch and Tussock. A good reminder to us gardeners that there are many moths and butterflies that our plants can play host to – not just monarchs. Last week I noticed this fellow noshing on a pot of Swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnata. Monarch butterfly caterpillar on milkweed, its host plant. I live in Cleveland Ohio. They gave me the creeps. I wanted to see how badly he wanted the milkweed. Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is a native herbaceous perennial whose main virtue is its appeal to butterfliesespecially the monarch, which deposits its eggs on the milkweed. Thanks for pointing it out. I’m in New Jersey I am in Stillwater MN and have found many milkweed Tussock on my orange butterfly bushes. This is our 3rd summer. I think they got lost. Plant butterfly weed the monarchs love it. And we’ve talked about What we saw was a huge group of Tussock Moth caterpillars! My milkweed in my yard did not do well this year because of the freaky weather so I did not have many butterflies. We live in North Central Wisconsin. I’ve never seen them before! Maybe next year! Man they are suppose to be in Southern states. I would like to attach an image if you reply to my email. Recently we have seen quite a few Tussock moth caterpillars on some of the plants. The question What Do Monarch Caterpillars Eat is often asked by those who raise Monarch Butterflies. It’s on my milkweed. I do not know how to attach picture here. Dawn. It will be fun to see the moths. Monarch caterpillars do not feed on tomato plants, despite what may seem like circumstantial evidence to the contrary. Hardly saw any last year. Milkweed Tussock Moth (Euchaetes egle) - Feeding by these hairy caterpillars is extreme. I saw your post regarding Monarch caterpillars eating only milkweed. I bought the plant for the caterpillar :o) and I don't care if he eats all of it. That tussock moth caterpillar is a cutie! my milkweed is for the monarchs. today I found a large monarch caterpillar almost ready to go into its chrysalis (sp?) Last week we visited royalty as we met the magical monarch and its larval host the milkweed plant. My butterfly bushes are covered with monarch caterpillars and I want them to thrive. They are pretty, and although I have only handled them a brief once or twice, no stinging or numbness occurred. The fact that I had five caterpillars to raise and release does mean that the adults had been her though! I live in Holland, MI. Milkweed for Butterflies. We had monarch caterpillars last summer. The Striped garden caterpillar turns into the rather nondescript Striped garden caterpillar moth, a grey, smallish creature with little black diamonds on his back. The caterpillar feeding method we use (and recommend for best results) is … The markings are similar enough that some people could be mistaking the Black Swallowtail caterpillar for the Monarch caterpillar.Without milkweed to eat the Monarch will not become poisonous to its predators. I’ve only ever encountered one other unique caterpillar and that was the Saddleback Caterpillar. If milkweed is the only place that Monarch butterflies will lay eggs, then why are there caterpillars all over my fennel? Monarch caterpillars eat the leaves of milkweed plants, which belong to the family ​ Asclepiadaceae. Monarchs Need Milkweed. I live in Maine and have 15 Tussock Moth caterpillars on 4 Milkweed stalks just munching away on the leaves. Here in the northeastern corner of Illinois I am for the very first time seeing several of the Tussock moth caterpillars on my milkweed plants. They strip the milkweed and r very aggressive. Anyone know what this might be? Help !!!! They will eat and poop and eat and poop and eat and poop until they get to be about 2" long. I DO NOT HAVE ANY MORE MILKWEED TO FEED THE CATERPILLARS. I tell everyone you haven’t seen a Monarch until you’ve seen one ‘just born’!!! I took it home, took photos, sent them to a number of people and nobody knew what it was,” said Kiphart. Thank you so much for the information regarding other Milkweed caterpillars. I have been using a bucket of water with blue dawn dish soap to get rid of them. A weed is simply a plant whose virtues have not been discovered. This species occurs throughout North America, and is frequently seen on a variety of species of Ascelpias, including swamp milkweed (A. incarnata). I was very surprised, but it is true. What else can I provide for them to eat? Thank you for the information! We have been saving and raising mammoths; we are up to 24 this year and we have to harvest milkweed leaves from nearby fields. You can see the same orange-and-black expression of other milkweed consumers in the belly of the beast, below. I was pulling out my tomato plants upon the finishing of the growing season. It was our first time looking/researching for the monarch – which we love. Even on our first outing, we learned quite a bit. But I’d rather have monarch cats. I think some people might be mistaking the black swallowtail caterpillar for the monarch caterpillar. i have raised three generations of monarchs since i broke my hip. With shifting land management practices, we have lost much milkweed from the landscape. Caught picture at night, masses of them. They left several eggs on milkweeds, and I have enjoyed raising them. What can I do to help, while living in Conn.? Great work, thanks for sharing your amazing blog. I have been collecting and releasing monarchs for over 40 years, there are bumper years and there are lean years, I look at it as a cycle that happens. thanks to your website I now know what they are, Thanks. my neighbor and I split the group and are watching them grow. So I had to squish them. Have also "tagged" butterflies and released them here in Central Florida. Eating habits of Monarch caterpillars are quite peculiar: these caterpillars eat milkweed plants inedible for most other insects. I live in southeastern Pennsylvania (Chambersburg area) and was inspecting my milkweed for Monarch caterpillars. We found a tussock caterpillar in Northern Ohio. If I still had all my swamp and common milkweed I’d have tons of caterpillars now through mid September. Our Ento. Today, I also just saw 2 Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars. Sure miss the Monarchs. Are they a pest to monarchs? I put some Brazilian verbena in this year and neither the monarchs or bees seem interned in them. dead, don’t know what killed it, but was sad to see, but on the bright side found 8 other caterpillars in so mn. Far, far too many milkweed bugs and milkweed beetles. Western Wi area. I have a lot of milkweed in the woods behind my house, the monarchs visit the plants but have not laid any eggs on it. It has what I am pretty sure are Cyncia moth larvae on it. I am in Cincinnati, OH and I see the milkweed tussock moth caterpillar on an annual basis. Isn’t it fun to share our experiences and encourage others to learn more about nature? Rural carrier, 2 years ago I noticed that the monarch’s were attracted to the oil the county spread on the dirt roads. Gillian, Warren MA., have pictures if can send? I was really surprised to find 5 to 6 Tussock moth eating away on my milkweed. The article didn’t mention the Queen Butterfly (often misidentified as a Monarch), that also host on Milkweed plants. I looked up early instars of the tussock moth but they seem to have their ‘quills’ even when very small. we had some caterpillars die in different stages of their lives from young worm to the cristlas stage. Just had a butterfly emerge from the chrysalis. As the caterpillars mature, they become covered in thick hairs with many black, orange and white tufts. Here’s a link for those interested on how to tell the difference between Monarchs and Queens. Hoya. We have also had a few of the fluffy milkweed tussocks eating on our milkweed as we speak. I've been raising Monarchs now for about 2 years and have released about 400-500. I take the largest cats and put them in a very large plastic jar(Snyders Pretzels) and a paper towel and then the butternut squash strips. Center is looking for backers who can donate to their fight over the planned addition of more miles blocking access to our side for the native animals that have lived down there for so very long. Monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed. The monarch butterfly is one of the most widely recognized butterflies in North America, well known for its spectacular migrations. I found an unexpected cycnia on swamp milkweed this year, and I’ve also found 3 striped garden caterpillars. Glad to have it identfied!! I found a larva on my milkweed – definitely not a monarch, I raise them. No milkweed, no monarch butterflies. Monarch caterpillars are not aware of this and eat it anyway! They do little else but eat milkweed until they literally burst out of their skins (molt). It looks similar to and often grows in conjunction with bindweed, so the post about caterpillars on bindweed may have actually been Honeyvine. –MM. It doesn’t need to be fertilized. I think it would help this discussion topic if you posted a picture of the Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar with the article. Please plant milkweed to support monarch populations, and their incredible migration! I am in Montague, New ersey. For the last two years I have had multiple Monarchs eat my Parsley leaves down to nubs. I have seen/heard people have the most success with the squash varieties. i'm afraid he will kill all of the seedlings. Swan plant commonly planted in our NZ gardens to encourage Monarch butterflies in my opinion does not supply enough cardenolides to deter or poison its enemies, wasps remove the cats when small and birds are eating the large ones, I've got many Swan bushes but no cats grow into larger size because of the wasp, only in Autumn do I notice them appear despite seeing Monarchs fluttering around.I guess the only solution is a close mesh bushhouse. Not found the Cyncia caterpillar on milkweed, Asclepias incarnata ever on my neighbor ’ what! 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