Not a Monarch
caterpillar !!
Meg
Brager 9/9/15
Out in my
garden a few weeks ago I spotted about 15 of these guys devouring my
milkweed. I got excited thinking they
were monarchs, but…..no. They are
Milkweed Tiger moth caterpillars, sometimes called Milkweed Tussock Moths. They do mirror the coloring of the monarch
butterfly, orange and black, and they are poisonous to predators thanks to the
milkweed. But they mature into a moth,
not a monarch. They seem to have similar
voracious appetites, though, they plowed through my milkweed in short
order. At least something is benefiting
from it, as I have not spotted one Monarch.
But there is always next year!
Learn more
at:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment and interest! NOW GO OUTSIDE!