Outdoor Elements
Another Milkweed Specialist: Milkweed Tussock Moth
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While exploring a patch of Milkweed, Evie came across a cluster of fuzzy, eye-catching caterpillars—Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars. Learn more about these lesser-known residents of Milkweed plants, their unique appearance, and why they thrive on this toxic plant. 🐛🌿 #TussockMoth #Milkweed #OutdoorElements #NatureDiscovery
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Outdoor Elements is a local public television program presented by PBS Michiana
Outdoor Elements
Another Milkweed Specialist: Milkweed Tussock Moth
Clip | 4m 36sVideo has Closed Captions
While exploring a patch of Milkweed, Evie came across a cluster of fuzzy, eye-catching caterpillars—Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars. Learn more about these lesser-known residents of Milkweed plants, their unique appearance, and why they thrive on this toxic plant. 🐛🌿 #TussockMoth #Milkweed #OutdoorElements #NatureDiscovery
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipThis is a really nice stand of common milkweed, and it's always fun to examine plants like this because you never know what you're going to find.
And of course, many of us know that common milkweed and other species of milkweeds are the host plants for monarch butterflies.
And in fact, I found one monarch caterpillar munching away on this milkweed plant.
Milkweeds have a almost like a latex type substance that helps to make monarch caterpillars and the adult monarchs somewhat toxic to birds or other things that might eat caterpillars.
And that yellow and black striped coloration warns birds and other predators that this might not be a tasty snack, so caterpillars often use that bright coloration to deter predators.
But if you look closely at these milkweed plants and others that are very close by, there's another caterpillar lurking on the leaves.
It's known as the milkweed tussock moth.
And again, it's a moth, not a butterfly that these will turn into these mature caterpillars or caterpillars that are getting close to pupil to form the moth have little hairs on them, but when they first hatch out of a mass of little tiny, tiny eggs that the female moth lays on the underside of the leaves, they're not very hairy, and they're kind of gray, a little bit speckled.
But as they grow and shed their skin through multiple instars, that's a phase or the molting stages of a caterpillar, they actually grow the hairs.
And you can see that these caterpillars also have a yellow and black coloration, warning predators that they're probably not very tasty.
And all those hairs or tufts are also a way to deter predators.
Predators often don't like to grab very fuzzy caterpillars sometimes.
If you're interested in fostering monarch butterflies, you see these masses of tussock moth caterpillars and get alarmed because they're munching away on the leaves, and it is in fact a native species, so they're actually not, harmful to the plant.
They're not harmful to the ecosystem.
And there are a few things that will try to nibble them.
So don't deter them.
Don't spray them for goodness sakes, because again, they are a native species.
They are.
The eggs are laid in around June in the Great Lakes region.
And then the caterpillars here at the end of July, early August are kind of in full glory.
And those caterpillars will eventually look for a place to lay, lay down in the mulch or in the under story of the field, and will spin and cocoon and then eventually metamorphosis into a pretty plain kind of drab moth.
Sometimes they're called tiger caterpillar moths or tiger moths, but, the true name is the milkweed tussock moth.
So again, if you see them, you'll notice that the leaves are shredded often and they don't eat the veins.
They kind of leave the veins which are a little tougher.
And, that's a good sign.
You could also look for frass, which are the droppings of caterpillars.
Sometimes those lay on the top of the leaves.
So that's a clue.
If you're searching around for caterpillars on your milkweed plants to kind of look for the frass, or maybe you'll see leaves that have been chewed or just leaving the veins always fun to explore, milkweed to see what you can find.
So remember, you can find your own outdoor elements when you visit area parks and natural areas.
We'll see you soon.
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