Category: Milkweed

  • Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillar

    Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillar

    Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillar (Euchaetes egle). This caterpillar just might alarm you if you’re growing milkweed with Monarch Butterflies in mind. No need to worry though. The Milkweed Tussock Moth and the Monarch Butterfly have grown up in the “same neighborhood” side by side, sharing the bounty. Both butterfly and moth caterpillars are eating a…

  • Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

    Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

    Several days ago I wrote about the adult Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus). The caterpillar of that beautiful butterfly has an impressive set of eyespots giving the caterpillar the look of a small snake which protects it from predators. The actual eyes are quite small, about the size of a pinpoint, located down the head, close…

  • Zebra Swallowtail

    Zebra Swallowtail

    The larval host of Zebra Swallowtail (Protographium marcellus) is any of the eight species of the genus PawPaw (Asimina). I’m in the process of replacing three PawPaw trees that I recently lost. An important quest for me. Exquisite Zebra Swallowtails depend entirely on PawPaw trees for their very existence. No PawPaw trees, no Zebra Swallowtails.…