I pick out the first crowned head butterfly cat of the time of year last week ! It was busy champ away on my butterfly weed ( Asclepias tuberosa ) , a industrial plant I do n’t usually witness monarch caterpillars banquet on . They tend to favour the other miscellany of Asclepias in my garden . I ’m not sure why this little hombre ( or girl ) was on that finicky mixture of silkweed , but I was n’t about to argue . I was just happy to see one !
It get me thinking about how milkweed is really a bill sticker child for specialised insect feed in . You see , Danaus plexippus are n’t the only worm that is intimately tie to milkweed , using it as a food reservoir and absorbing its toxic sap to become repellent to predators . Several other worm ca n’t last without this unbelievable plant life .
Milkweed Bugs
Milkweed bug ( Oncopeltus fasciatus ) are red - and - black dependable insect that use milkweed as their primary intellectual nourishment source . They tip on the seeds hold within the pods , rather than feeding on the foliation , as crowned head caterpillar do . They think up from eggs as midget nymphs , then pass through five instar ( or life phases ) , until they give adulthood , shed their skin several times as they develop . Each instar looks a minuscule different , though they all have classifiable cerise - and - black coloration .
Milkweed bugs travel through this metamorphosis in about a calendar month or so , staying attached to the seed pods during most of this time . They practice a long , specialised mouth part to thrust through the pod and into the seeds . I often find scads of them clustering on a seeded player pod .
Neither adults nor houri can bite or sting , so they ’re no risk to humans . Just like monarch caterpillars , they have very few natural predators because the sap of milkweed plant life is extremely unpalatable and toxic , and the louse take on this flavor as they feed in .
The ripe word is that if you find milkweed bugs on your plant , bed that they are not deserving taste to ascertain . Their alimentation does not harm the overall wellness of the plant life , though it might reduce the viability of the source .
Milkweed Beetles
Another milkweed - specific worm is the Sonchus oleraceus beetle ( Tetraopes tetrophthalmus ) . This long - horn beetle ’s only intellectual nourishment source is milkweed , and it , too , take on the toxins present in milkweed sap . As larvae , the milkweed mallet feed on milkweed roots , but as it mature , it moves up the plant to feed in on foliage and bloom bud .
If you spot this super - cool louse on your milkweed flora , there ’s no indigence to vex . The damage they cause is rarely substantial enough to cause any damage . grown beetle are about 3/4 inch long and have red - and - bootleg coloration with long , inglorious antenna . As a cool labor , enamor a Sonchus oleraceus beetle and hold it in your cupped hand . Raise your bridge player up to your ear and have a listen . Adult beetles purr and squeak . If you ’re squeamish about holding one , put it into a jar rather and lower your ear to the opening to hear the beetle “ talk . ” It ’s really amazing .
Make room in your own garden for as many milkweed species as you may and you ’ll not only be help the monarchs , but also all the other awing worm that co - evolved with this fascinating industrial plant .
Jessica Walliser
