The photo is terrible but I hope you can see this little cat well enough to identify.
I discovered several of these tinsy weensy cats on my milkweed. Can you tell from this poor photo if they are Monarch cats?
I broke off the leaves and put them into a plastic container with the lid cut out and cloth over the top and have them inside for now.
Mary
Here are images of the Monarch cat from google.com:
http://images.google.com/images?q=Monarch%20caterpillars&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&oe=utf8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi
Thank you, Kay.
There is a photo on the second page of images of a one day old Monarch cat and I do believe these are Monarch butterfly cats!
I'll need to keep checking the leaves for new births. I think there are 5 or 6 cats in my container right now.
Whoopee!
Mary
Congrats, MaMa!!!! Keep the transformation pictures coming!
Thank you, Kay. I'm so excited to see these little guys.
If I dispose of the old milkweed leaves each day and put in fresh ones, what if there are unhatched eggs still on the old leaves? I would be disposing of possible unborn babies? I thought removing the leaf from the plant and just placing it in the container was a good idea (so as not to touch or upset the tiny babies) until it occured to me there might be eggs that haven't yet hatched on these leaves. What does everyone else do in this situation?
Mary
I just leave mine alone and let the leaves fall off naturally. Maybe our resident DG caterillar expert, Cat, will reply - she's very knowlegable.
Here is a link to Cat's page - you might drop her a dmail with your questions.
http://davesgarden.com/members/TexasPuddyPrint/
Mary...
I didn't notice any tubercles on your caterpillar in the photo - then again with my old eyes - hard to tell in that photo :o) The first instars have tiny little tubercles that aren't very visible. Not sure if you get Queens in Arkansas. Monarchs have two sets of tubercles, Queens have three sets.
If you looked at the google images link Jo provided you can compare them to your caterpillars.
If you clipped leaves with eggs on them you can stick the ends into wet floral foam to keep them fresh - well fresher than just laying them on a paper towel. Don't discard any leaves with eggs still on them - but rather if they are dry or drying out - lay them over a fresh leaf - that way when the little first instar hatches it will move over to the fresh food source.
Sometimes when I don't want to bother with watching over eggs or small instars I will place the leaves back on the plant - lay them in the "V" or leaf crotch or somewhere that they won't blow away. The cats will crawl onto the plant in due time.
~ Cat
ps...when Monarchs and Queens start laying eggs - you'll realize you can never have too much milkweed!!! :o)
Hi Cat,
Thank you so much for this helpful information. These little guys are so tiny, I can hardly make them out on the leaves, even with a magnifying glass, I can't tell if there are tubercles on their little heads. I'll keep watching and look for them. Maybe I have moth babies! :-)
As for having enough milkweed. That thought crossed my mind last night as I counted the milkweed plants and wondered just how much these little guys will need if they are, indeed, Monarch butterfly babies.
Mary
I can see the little bitty tubercles today! Found another baby on the milkweed outside and brought it in. Outside, in the sunlight, I could see his tubercles very easily. So, now I need to fix them a good home.
It won't hurt to have them inside in the air conditioned house, will it?
My thanks for all the encouragement.
Mary
Congrats Mary!!!
The air conditioned house won't damage them - unless you have it really cold. 78 degrees is okay. Keep them out of the direct path of cold air though. I often bring cat cages inside but have noticed the caterpillars grow slower when I have them inside but since our temps are usually 104 most days I just hate leaving them outside even if they are on a shaded porch.
Since Monarchs are little pigs - you can lay a couple of fresh leaves on a papertowel and when they eat those - toss out the paper towel that will most likely be covered with frass (caterpillar poo) and add a clean papertowel and new leaves. You can just set the caterpillars and the remaining piece of leaf they are on onto the new leaves or you can use a soft haired paint brush to gently....GENTLY...urge the caterpillar over onto the new leaf. Be careful with those small caterpillars - even a soft brush can squish them if you are too rough.
~ Cat
