GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - Monarch caterpillars eating all the milkweed!

20-03-2004, 02:10 AM

The message
from (Genevieve) contains these words:

I want to encourage butterflies in my garden, but the caterpillars are
consuming the milkweed plant. The plant is practically leafless now.

Will the plant bounce back? How should I deal w/these critters?

Remember, butterflies don't just look for their own food plants. They
also look for (very specific) plants to lay their eggs on.Usually the
butterfly and its caterpillar feed on completely different plants, so
you need to provide different food for both to support the full breeding
cycle. Those caterpillars you're feeding are going to turn into lots of
butterflies, so you're succeeding. Once they reach the pupating stage,
obviously they stop eating leaves.

If you find any pupae or chrysalids (looks like a tiny alien
spaceship), you might like to keep one or two under observation in a jar
in the house so you can have the wonderful experience of watching the
butterfly emerging with its wings all damp and folded up, then expanding
them to their full glory for the first time.Once it does, let it outside
of course.

Janet