Saturday 2 August 2014

Milkweed Tussock Moth: Euchaetes egle from eggs to caterpillar

Finally, I snagged photos of a milkweed tussock moth!



These weeny little caterpillars are Milkweed Tussock moth eggs, and larvae, as confirmed on BAMONA. They begin at Day 1, Day 2 you could see spots, day 3, they turned white and another critter dropped some eggs beside them! Totally decimating the plant, they work leaf-by-leaf, leaving their droppings underneath on the leaf.

Milkweed Tussock Moth or Milkweed Tiger Moth
I have yet to photograph one!

Euchaetes egle (Drury, 1773)

Family: Erebidae
Subfamily: Arctiinae

Egg masses are laid on the leaf.

These are the cutest little caterpillars.




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16 comments:

Roan said...

I've seen similar worms out and about. They are odd looking. I enjoyed your post!

eileeninmd said...

Jen, cool post on the milkweed critters.. the tiny eggs are amazing captures. Great series of photos. Thank you for linking up your post with my critter party. Happy weekend, Eileen!

TexWisGirl said...

pretty neat transitions you've shown!

Crafty Green Poet said...

great photos, so fascinating to see these stages of the lifecycle!

Diane AZ said...

So interesting to see how they change. The caterpillars look like fancy little pipe cleaners. Amazing photos!

William Kendall said...

The caterpillars do look quite pleasing to the eye!

Powell River Books said...

Looks like they have a very healthy appetite. Do they leave your other plants alone? - Margy

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

These are such cool pictures!

Stephanie said...

Splendid photos!

Anonymous said...

great series of photos, Nature is amazing :)

Red said...

We have the last caterpillar here and they go in cycles. When the cycle is at it's peak large acts of poplar are completely leafless.

Karen said...

Excellent details in these shots!

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

AN interesting and informative post. Have a great weekend.

Unknown said...

Awesome shots of the eggs and the larvae! Have a great Sunday.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Biology in actions! YAM xx

Jenn Jilks said...

They do leave the other plants alone!