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High infection can result in smaller wingspans and lower weights. Mating success decreases with higher parasite loads and, though females that mate and lay eggs have a shorter lifespan, they have no decrease in egg-laying. Spores are passed from female to caterpillar. Parasite levels vary between geographical populations ranging from 70% to 3%.
The first-instar caterpillar that emerges from the egg is pale green or grayish-white, shiny, and almost translucent, with a large, black head. It lacks banding coloration or tentacles. The larvae or caterpillar eats its egg case and begins to feed on milkweed with a circular motion, often leaving a characteristic, arc-shaped hole in the leaf.
Although monarch caterpillars will feed on butterfly weed (A. tuberosa) in butterfly gardens, it is typically not a heavily used host plant for the species. [51] The plant contains only low levels of cardiac glycosides. This may make A. tuberosa unattractive to egg-laying monarchs. [52] Some other milkweeds have similar characteristics. [53]
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.
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 ...
For example, when a caterpillar hatches from an egg, it is in its first instar. Because caterpillars are gregarious, they often congregate on a single milkweed plant and strip it bare before ...
In addition to its plant-based diet, O. fasciatus has been observed feeding on aphids, monarch caterpillar eggs, and larvae, displaying opportunistic behavior. [4] [20] This bug also feeds on A. nivea, Sarcostemma clausa, Calotropis procera, and Nerium oleander. The southern populations often consume Asclepias curassavica, a tropical milkweed.
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