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Fifth-instar monarch larva eating milkweed leaves (Some at 20 × speed). A second-instar larva grazing on leaf and cutting through a latex vein. The third-instar larva has more distinct bands and the two pairs of tentacles become longer. Legs on the thorax differentiate into a smaller pair near the head and larger pairs further back.
Both the milkweed tussock and the monarch caterpillars eat the cardiac glycoside-laden milky sap of milkweed and have evolved mechanisms to retain those toxins in their bodies after metamorphosing ...
Milkweed, of course, is the only food that monarch caterpillars eat, making it crucial for their survival. But here we come to the struggle between creating habitat and pretty landscapes in our yards.
Four species are found in North America: the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), the queen (Danaus gilippus), the tropical milkweed butterfly (Lycorea cleobaea), and the soldier butterfly (or "tropic queen", Danaus eresimus). Of these, the monarch is by far the most famous, being one of the most recognizable butterflies in the Americas.
As caterpillars, they live exclusively on milkweed. These butterflies migrate in the fall, This fascinating insect goes through an amazing life cycle consisting of four stages: egg, larvae, pupa ...
Cynanchum laeve is a food plant of caterpillars of monarch butterflies. [4] [14] Larvae of Euchaetes egle, the milkweed tussock moth, both in the Eastern and Western United States consume C. laeve. The larvae of these moths eat Cynanchum laeve and other plants when developing. [5]
Few insects are as beloved as the monarch butterfly. These fascinating creatures are beautiful, boldly colored and surprisingly strong — the North American monarch migrating thousands of miles ...
Monarch butterflies are thought to respond to different cues that promote the fall season southern migration. These include the angle of light coming from the sun, the senescence of larval host milkweed plants, the decreasing day period and temperature drop. [21] The migration begins at the northernmost summer range approximately in August.