A Hungry Caterpillar

Looking to me like a Yorkshire Terrier dressed for Halloween, this is actually a Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillar (Euchaetes egle), out and about in late summer and now, early autumn. These larvae principally choose Milkweed (Asclepias) or Dogbane (Apocynum) as their host plants.

Not to be of concern though. These caterpillars generally go for older plants which are more tough, for their meals. Monarch caterpillars will choose more tender, younger plants to sustain themselves.

The Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars might leave the Milkweed plants looking a bit bedraggled but those plants will survive to sprout up again next year, for another year of supporting Monarchs and these Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars.

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.