I think a lot of people are familiar with the standard variety of milkweed, not the different subspecies. Help !!!! Tussock moth caterpillars denude trees and bushes as well as milkweed. We have been raising Monarchs indoors for several years in the Southern Tier of NY state. I have two parsley plants that have four or more Monarch caterpillars eating them to the quick. I have the Cyncia inopinatus caterpillar on my milk weed this year. They seem to take advantage of the Monarch’s completing their cycle & are more numerous then but they are around when the Monarch caterpillars are still feeding. Plants, Do Monarch Caterpillars Eat Anything Besides Milkweed, help Monarch butterflies in our Ecosystem Gardens by planting more milkweed. I have plenty of up close photos to share. Black swallowtails eat parsley, fennel, and dill. One caterpillar is only 2cm long and so it's definitely not searching for chrysalis mounting point. No Monarchs though. The University of Minnesota, which oversees the MLMP, is seeking citizen science observations and documentation of the moth, which is considered rare and of conservation concern. We found a tussock caterpillar in Northern Ohio. What else can I provide for them to eat? Although they feed primarily on seeds, adults will sometimes feed on monarch butterfly caterpillars or pupae or other insects trapped in milkweed flowers, or consume nectar from various flowers. They definitely were attaché to the tomato and definitely eating the leaves. Kiphart says Langford brought the caterpillar to a meeting, asking for help in identifying it. We see tussock moths yearly on the milkweed. Thank you for your website to help identify them. I think some people might be mistaking the black swallowtail caterpillar for the monarch caterpillar. The IO moth cats have lots of stinging points on them, and I only got stung in a couple of spots on a couple of knuckles while I was caring for them. he has eaten all of the leaves on one 6 inch seedling. In years past there have been lots of them, although not so much last year. i'm afraid he will kill all of the seedlings. I was really surprised to find 5 to 6 Tussock moth eating away on my milkweed. Milkweed Leaf Miners. However, some tidy individuals will eat their old skins after they crawl out in their new ones. Would love to, though. But I’d rather have monarch cats. Monarchs cannot survive without milkweed; their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants (Asclepias spp. Queen butterflies will also use milkweed as hosts. Monarchs are beautiful without a doubt and I love seeing them but why kill something just because it isn’t as pretty. Central NJ. They stripped all of my swamp milkweed in 2 days. Correct. I STILL HAVE ABOUT 5 LOOKING FOR FOOD. I’m in New Jersey We all know that monarch larvae eat milkweed plants, but what about the other insects that share a … They left several eggs on milkweeds, and I have enjoyed raising them. Sure hope the scarcity doesn’t become the norm. I do not know how to attach picture here. What could have happened to the other 2?? We see Tussock moth caterpillars on milkweed all the time here in Ohio. Totally trying to avoid during our drives. I recently had the pleasure of raising a number of Polyphemus moth cats and some IO moth cats. I live in Wisconsin and just found more than a dozen Tussock Moth on my milkweed. I let them live. I tell everyone you haven’t seen a Monarch until you’ve seen one ‘just born’!!! Was fortunate enough to spot a beautiful green crysallis (sp?) Sure miss them. I live in northern Vermont and do not recall seeing it before. A third milkweed fan, Cycnia inopinatus, also makes appearances now and then. or females? Od share pic, but see no way to do that. Judging from conversations with folks who work and play a lot with milkweed raising caterpillars and butterflies, these other milkweed eaters are not all that common. I had one attach right to a cherry tomato ? monarch caterpillar eating milkweed seedling, Monarch. Do they crawl that far? Pumpkin fruit. If milkweed is the only place that Monarch butterflies will lay eggs, then why are there caterpillars all over my fennel? The milkweed plant provides all the nourishment the monarch needs to transform the Monarch caterpillar into the adult butterfly. Another milkweed feeder. I live in Cleveland Ohio. A large bottom leaf was covered in Tussock moth caterpillars! Wikimedia Commons. We had monarch caterpillars last summer. What we saw was a huge group of Tussock Moth caterpillars! There used to be so many I raised some of the caterpillars in my butterfly box. I came to your site because after years of collecting and sharing monarch eggs and caterpillars, and enjoying my butterfly garden, complete with milkweed, I found a full grown monarch caterpillar on my potted verbena flowers. They gave me the creeps. Two out of 6 fennel plants had beautiful green monarch caterpillars munching away. https://texasbutterflyranch.com/2012/12/07/queen-monarch-caterpillars-and-butterflies-how-to-tell-the-difference/. Once the caterpillar finds a safe place, it will assume the “J” position and begin the process of transforming into the chrysalis phase. They strip the milkweed and r very aggressive. Liriomyza asclepiadis is the specific species of leaf miner that feeds on … Any idea what they could be? Have also "tagged" butterflies and released them here in Central Florida. To Amber: I'm guessing that those are black swallowtail butterflies eating your parsley. It’s a Striped garden caterpillar. Cyncia inopinatus caterpillar. Great visual and educational information. Thank you for the information! Several if them all feeding on the same leaf. by Ecosystem Gardener | Dec 4, 2020 | Butterfly Gardening. Instead of getting everyone to plant milkweed, I feel like it may be more obtainable to educate gardeners of the different milkweeds that can be beneficial and how to maintain them in a controlled way. I have seen plenty of black swallowtails on those herbs but never a monarch. I’m thinking they are the “babies” growing into the more colorful tussock? We have found three catapillars on the milkweed that are not Monarchs. I’m pretty hot about it! question: I went out to my goat hut this evening, and found a female Monarch on the side of the hut. Some who raise caterpillars on potted plants also stick the floral pick cutting in the potted soil, so caterpillars can crawl on to the large plant after the milkweed cutting is devoured. While looking at the monarch caterpillars i saw a milkweed leaf half Covered with I think Tussuck .caterpillars. Good point! I was digging out some garden plants and found some Monarch larva on one of the plants. This species uses milkweed at all stages of its life cycle. I’ll pinch it back so it doesn’t get floppy. At the front of my house I have several orange butterfly weed plants and there are about 7 caterpillars eating the leaves and flowers of these plants. The caterpillars look very similar to the monarch cats. Great Article! Have you seen any of these other milkweed feeders? For the last two years I have had multiple Monarchs eat my Parsley leaves down to nubs. Thank you so much for the information regarding other Milkweed caterpillars. We have also had a few of the fluffy milkweed tussocks eating on our milkweed as we speak. I get them on my parsley and dill every year. They are unlikely to cause direct harm to your Monarch eggs or caterpillars, since they most likely eat plant material, not other insects. The adults of this species are nectivorous. I found 3 Swallow Tail caterpillars on my parsley plant, in the corner of my deck, and a few days later, only 1 can be found. Unfortunately the Ntl. Dawn. With shifting land management practices, we have lost much milkweed from the landscape. Approximately how big are the Cyncia moths? 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 also found something else which I haven’t identified yet. Are they a pest to monarchs? last year, but it had been growing and eating nearby milkweed. And we’ve talked about Had the Tussocks last year. So far this summer we’ve seen yellow swallowtails, black swallowtails, monarchs, viceroys, and more. PS…have furry white caterpillars eating milkweed also. We have 3 or 4 milkweed tussock catepillars. I have been searching on the internet to find what kind it is and I have not found out what it is. Anyone know what this might be? I have photos of a Cyncia moth I found during summer of 2016. I just returned from the herb farm down road from me. Have a problem every Fall figuring out the best time to start cleaning up the old milkweeds while not interfering with anyone’s dining. The adult lays it eggs on milkweed only. I’m in Kansas and I have seen the Cyncia moth but didn’t know anything about them. I live in Kentucky and I see the ttussock moth caterpillar all of the time they are everywhere at my house. Monarch caterpillars remain in the larva stage for about two weeks. Does anyone have any ideas on this problem? thanks to your website I now know what they are, Thanks. We live in North Central Wisconsin. We live between Georgetown and Florence. There were probably 30 or more of the Tussock Moths caterpillars, and they were still very small. I misspoke about the taxonomy of Honeyvine. i have raised three generations of monarchs since i broke my hip. So, my question is the comment title; “Is parsley a type of milkweed”?Thanks in advance for any feedback!AmberGonzales, La. They are pretty, and although I have only handled them a brief once or twice, no stinging or numbness occurred. It was our first time looking/researching for the monarch – which we love. Photo by Monika Maeckle. How to Grow Milkweed. Saved me many times! It is not picky about soil. I appreciate your website in helping me identify. Argh I don’t know how to attach a pic…. That tussock moth caterpillar is a cutie! Some of us are planning a trip to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas in late October to visit all the butterfly nature centers down there, including the National Butterfly Center in Mission, TX, supported by the North American Butterfly Association. It will be fun to see the moths. Apparently monarch eggs were laid on my parsley, dill, cilantro, and carrot plants because caterpillars are feeding on each of these plants (there are more caterpillars on the parsley than the other plants). I wanted to see how badly he wanted the milkweed. I have photos of an African Monarch caterpillar eating my star-flower cactus. Will photograph stages. Eventually the Cyncia was identified. They are cute! I would attach them if I knew how, sorry, they’re on my phone. I have seen those tussock milkweed caterpillars up here in Southern Canada. what do you suggest. Perhaps even more handsome is the fluffy Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillar, Eucaetes Egle. Monarch caterpillar is not there, it was too little to go to chrysalis. I have them eating my fennel plant 2 yeaars in a row now.. As others have commented my fennel is almost gone and I have some pretty small caterpillars. I put some Brazilian verbena in this year and neither the monarchs or bees seem interned in them. Photo by Kip Kiphart. According to Wagner, the species occurs in Texas and the Southwest. They’re adorable! I also see hummingbird moths, a variety of wasps and bees, assassin bugs, praying mantis and other moths and butterflies. I live near Glen Rose TX. I have never found them on any other plant except this particular ivy. Therefore, the larvae will not survive without milkweed. Didn’t know anything else ate milkweeds! Many many butterflies down there including some that come across the Rio Grande River into the South Texas region, so we always come away from our trip with more to add to our life list of butterflies……lots of birds too. Thank you for helping me identify them. And as Peggy has discovered, sometimes this place will be under a leaf of your tomato plants. Hello. I've been raising Monarchs now for about 2 years and have released about 400-500. Never saw anything like it before! I also have butterfly bush, butterfly weed, tall Garden Phlox, etc for the bees and butterflies. I am not sure what happened this year, except for our extremely late spring. As they finish and start to crawl up and out of the jar, I then put them on the inside of our screen porch and they climb up and form their chrysalis! the amazing phenomenon that is the Monarch migration to their wintering sites in Mexico, and the scientists who study this migration. Monarch caterpillars are not aware of this and eat it anyway! Dr. David L. Wagner, author of the useful Caterpillars of Eastern North America, describes the milkweed feeder on page 415 of his seminal guidebook as a “handsome brown and yellow striped caterpillar.” He recommends looking for them in grass seed heads but adds that he often finds them on the flowers of Goldenrod in the fall. Who do I write to? While gardening in my adult sons tomato garden I came across 5 monarch monarch caterpillars. I make a butternut popsicle and put that on a metal skewer or just cut some into strips, julienne style. Last week I noticed this fellow noshing on a pot of Swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnata. Gillian, Warren MA., have pictures if can send? 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. Last year there were so many monarchs that for several weeks that I drove v-e-r-y slowly on the country roads to try to avoid hitting them. Thank you for the info. Previous year there were 8! Monarch caterpillars do only eat plants in the Milkweed family (Asclepias spp), so if we want to help them out in our wildlife gardens, we still need to add these plants to our gardens. I live in Central Texas and just saw one of the Tussock Moth caterpillar on one of our Texas Milkweeds yesterday. By planting milkweed in your own garden, landscape and throughout your community, you can help reverse the fortune of these beautiful insects. I am in Stillwater MN and have found many milkweed Tussock on my orange butterfly bushes. They eat milkweed leaves. Monarch Caterapillars pick all manner of locations for their transformation into a chrysalis. I live in north central Kentucky (Meade county), Just west of Louisville. Though the caterpillars are certainly eye-catching, the moths, too, are attractive in their way. We have lots of Monarchs, too. She saved me a few of the cats to raise, and some have already made a cocoon, some are still eating. The family name is Asclepias. I have these in my milkweed in Indiana! They have a varied diet in that the young eats leaves of milkweed plant while the adults feed on nectar of flowers. As my Dill plant is slowly being entirely consumed by ONE monarch caterpillar, I was hoping to find other things for it to munch on so I could watch it turn into a butterfly. I was just checking my Milkweed for Monarch Lava and found a Load of Tussock Moth Caterpillars…. Correct. Thank You for your info as I have not found the Cyncia in my Butterflies and Moths book. I live in Kennebunk, Maine and I have the Tussock caterpillars all over the milk weed growing around my house. Any theories? My milkweed in my yard did not do well this year because of the freaky weather so I did not have many butterflies. Plant placement can reduce predator traffic. Monarchs are specialist feeders, meaning they will only eat a specific kind of plant (milkweeds), and cannot survive without it. I am from southern minnesota. Any ideas? It has now turned into a beautiful green chrysalis with a gold trim and gold dots. I’m in Vermont. Are they? It’s eating the milk weed leaves. 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