Bloodflower, Swallow-wort, Butterfly Weed, Mexican Milkweed, Scarlet Milkweed
Asclepias curassavica
A monarch butterfly caterpillar along with several other types of insects munching on a Mexican milkweed. I can not irradicate the other insects because of the monarch caterpillars. The milkweed will bounce back after being eaten. Shown in April. (San Antonio, Tx.)
Nice picture Htop Didn't get one monarch caterpillar the last two year. Only saw a few Monarchs this year also. Hopefully they will have a good winter and comeback up north. George
I was thrilled to see the caterpillar and encouraged him to eat all he desired as well as told him to invite his friends to lunch. I used to have a lot of monarchs visit, but they have been decreasing in numbers as the years pass. Thanks for your comments.
The other insects are red aphids. Don't worry about them, no need to spray them. They seem to be host specific and only seem to show up on the milkweed. They don't do it any significant harm. I've never had a milkweed that didn't have them and I've never seen damage to the milkweeds from this aphid.
Jeremy
Jeremy, thanks for your comments. You are absolutely right about the aphids on the plant. They sure do love this milkweed. For some reason the plants haven't had any this year. We have had few monarchs or other butterflies this year. Supposedly, they became infected with a virus that killed them.
