These cats were eating my neighbor's orchid tree - she called me to 'come get them off!' - I put them on some of my OTHER neighbor's orchid trees (he'll never even notice! LOL) - anyway - does anyone know what they are?
Thanks,
Onalee
Anyone know this cat?
Hi Onalee. I believe you have IO moth larvae there (Automeris io) They are in the Giant Silkworm moth group or Saturniidae family. I hope you didn't touch them......those are stinging spines. IO moth larvae eat many different plants. Were they all together in a group? IO's are gregarious in their early instars and then become solitary feeders until pupation.
Last year I raised a bunch of them that I found on Redbud.
Is this your cat?
Here's another pic of them all in a row......eating redbud.
I'm glad to hear that you didn't destroy them. This is what they'll turn in to.....absolutely gorgeous !!
They flash their big eyespots on the underwing to make predators think they're an owl or some huge critter.
Oh MY! I wish you'd come over and put those on something in my garden Onalee! Of course, I have redbud, but not much left of the leaves on my two trees. Shoot! Those are gorgeous moths....thanks so much for sharing your pic of them DiOhio! :-)
-Julie
Oh wow - yes that's it! That is amazing!! Yes, they were all in a group on the orichid tree at my neighbors - I did touch a couple of them that fell off when I was trying to gather them up - but they didn't sting me, just lucky I guess! I don't have any redbud or orchid trees, that's why I took them to my other neighbor's tree - what else do they eat?
Wow - very cool - thank you so much for the info!!!
Onalee
Check here for some more info:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/moths/fl/957.htm
They are eating my clivia vines. I didn't notice the first one and bumped his spines with my finger, boy did that sting! I left them alone, they can have the whole vine if they want it. They ate my hibiscus one year. I always leave them alone because they make a beautiful moth.
onalee, just checked the distance from my house to Brookville, 169 mi. . LOL, But only have redbud for them to eat. will be planting butterfly friendly now. Does't any Florida eat Butterfly weed? I finally have one species growing.
Monarchs for one.
I photograph my butterfly weed seed pods daily. I will share if they mature.
sugarweed - I get monarchs and queen butterfly cats on my milkweed - this year fewer than in past years, maybe due to the hurricanes?
Onalee
Mine are still maturing too. Turning cold today so this could be the end for them. Have some seeds if you want some. Have both perennials and annuals.
Darn - they eat pear trees - I could have put them on my pear tree! Oh well, I'm sure they'll be fine on the redbud I put them on.
It says the adult doesn't feed .. . . even on nectar? The other moths we have here come out a dusk and feed on four o'clock and moonflower bloom nectar .. . How do you get to see this beautiful moth if it doesn't feed on anything? I always hang out around the flowers at dusk to see all the hawk and hummingbird moths . . .
Onalee
Yes, it's true. Giant Silk moths don't have mouths (or proboscis) so they can't feed. Their only purpose is to mate.....carry on the species and then die. Isn't that sad. But fortunately the larvae eat enough to give the adult sufficient energy to mate and live for a week or so.
I get a lot of Giant Silk moths at my porch lights. Also I can always count on finding a Luna moth hiding under a canna leaf during the day. But just try turning on the porch lights for a few hours and then go check it out ! Unbelievable. I have even turned on a "trouble light" and set it on a flannel sheet on the hood of my car and pretty soon the moths come flying in. They love black lights too, but a mercury vapor light is supposed to be the best to attract them.
Another thing that I think really attracts them is Oriental Lilies. This summer I added dozens to my gardens, and this summer I had a record count of moth species.
And I think Redbud is one of the best trees you could ever add to your yard. Not only are the blossoms beautiful in the spring, but the heart-shaped foliage is pretty all summer. And it serves as host plant to many moth species. Last year I had over a dozen different caterpillar species on one little 10' redbud next to the Oriental Lilies !!
Oh gosh, now you got me started on moths !
Sorry for running on........
Here is a pic of what the IO looks like when he's not flashing his big eyespots.
What do you do when the monarch cats run out of food and there aren't any milkweeds anywhere to be found? I moved them from the sticks that were left of the milkweed to a purple allamanda vine(yes, it's in the milkweed family of asclepidae.......how do you spell that?) but after one bite they were crawling away looking for food. I hope they didn't die.
Calalily - I had that problem last year, I had planted what I THOUGHT was a lot of butterfly weed plants, but they started devouring them so fast - so I planted more, but, of course they weren't big enough to do any good for the first wave. I kept moving the cats about to any bush that had even one leaf for them to eat - they will eat the stem, too so most of my original plants were nothing but short nubs by the time they were done. This year I added many more plants, but didn't have nearly as many cats as last year, again, I assume due to all the hurricanes. I really don't know what to do when they eat everything up - I just had to hope for the best for them. I did find milkweed plants in walmart last summer and nearly bought some but my DH would have killed me - I think they wanted almost $4 for one plant in a gallon pot - it wouldn't have lasted anytime at all!
-O
onalee, will they bloom their first year from seed?
They will probably pupate early if they run out of food. I guess it probably depends on what instar they are in too. I'm sure they need a certain amount of food to properly pupate, but have seen smaller cats pupate. They are smaller butterflies.
konkreteblond .. ahh, some very interesting info indeed!!
Your statement (REF: " ... have seen smaller cats pupate. They are smaller butterflies. .. "
... Now, I must seriously inquire - - Is [that] the sole reason .. as to why we may see several butterflies of the same species, flying about virtually at the same time.. but in just as much a variety of SIZES too?
And/or .. are there other reasons for this? .. Dang, I've just always assumed that it was because one or two was a bit more of an adultish butterfly than some others. (I won't dwell long on that one ... ha!) I'd honestly thought that the butterflies actually continued to 'grow' a bit ...
As you guys can easily tell .. I've not put any serious research or thought into such with the lovelies .. until now. And, I should surely be ashamed of myself. hee
Straigten me out here ... and soon, please .. hee
- Magpye
Well, I just returned from HD with two plants that are exactly like the tall butterfly weed I have, except for blossom color. They sold them as Swamp Milkweed.http://davesgarden.com/pdb/showimage/51972/. This was a nice surprise. Some of your seed would be great John. This has been in my 5 favorite wildflowers for 20+ years. Thanks Sidney
(shhhh .. ya didn't do a 'DD' while ya were thar, now didja?) lol .. sugarweed!!
- Magpye
Imway - Yes, the ones I have bloom the first year from seed.
Magpye - as far as I've ever read, butterflies do not grow any more once they emerge from the chyrs. - whatever they are when they come out is what they will always be.
Onalee
I looked, but it was still daylight, they gotta be moving sad stock somewhere,cause all of that inside was pretty.
This message was edited Nov 13, 2004 1:05 AM
Sugarweed, I'm jealous that you can find Swampweed at a HD! Wow! I have some growing but it looked pretty sad this year. This was it's 2nd year and it was much bigger but aphids just loved it. It never bloomed either. Hopefully next year it will come back bigger and stronger. If you still have Monarch's in your area that could lay eggs, be sure and wash that plant off pretty good. Most nurseries use insecticides that will eventually kill the cats. :(
Magpye, no reason to be ashamed! lol There are many things that just "happen" that I never think twice about. No, butterflies do not grow once they eclose. They are what they are for a few weeks to a few months. Have you ever noticed the ones that are really bright and the ones that are dull? The bright ones are usually newly emerged and the dull ones have weathered scales from age.
Thanks .. ever so much .. for the info, Onalee and kb !!
Yep, (hee) surprisingly .. I'd known about the age differentiation, between the vivid and dull flutterbyes.
It just kills my soul to see those that are dull, tattered and torn. But, do know that it's all a part of their life cycle ...
(still, jes bothers me so!) ..
- Magpye
Edited .. to correct goofs! lol
This message was edited Nov 11, 2004 7:59 PM
I'll share seeds, ifin I get any.
That'd be great, Sydney.
These are my new plants today, swampweed I think kkb said.
Oops..did I say that?! It's Swamp Milkweed, just like you had said, I just blurred it. LOL I think you got another form of milkweed. What does the tag on your plant say? A. tuberosa or A.curassavica? Swamp Milkweed is Asclepias incarnata and has pink-red flowers, or there is one that blooms white.
Look thru sites like milkweedfarm.com or wildflowerfarm.com etc. and you'll see pics
This message was edited Nov 13, 2004 8:56 AM
Thanks kkb, but the sign at H/D said Swamp or Marsh Milkweed. will return to confirm. (any excuse).
I will do more research as I have time. Right now they're planted and thats a plus. Who'd ever thunk Milkweed would have its own sites. I thought I was one of the few naturaly drawn to it.
I am like a sponge right now for all this wonderful information.
Daves Garden is like Disney World to me.
Nurseries tags aren't always correct, unfortunately, but it's still a great butterfly plant! Looking thru the pics on the milkweed sites made me want to start some inside this spring. I'm not real good at starting from seed inside, but will give it a shot.
kkb, you were right, the burgandy/orange is an Asclepias according to H/D'sign. There was no sign at Lowe's by the school bus yellows. They are identical except for bloom color.
I have a cultivar of Asclepias called 'silky gold' How can I determine the species of Asclepias myself? The nursery I bought it at said it was A. tuberosa but, when I looked it up it says that cultivar is A. curassavica.
Milkweeds are Asclepias, and whatever variety you have is the second part of the name. The tuberosa has orange blooms, and the curassavica has either yellow "Silky Gold" or the red/yellow/orange "Mexican or Tropical Milkweed". Just look the pics up on those 2 sites or a google search. I get confused with all the botanical names unless I see pics at the same time.
Sugarweed, yours look to be the A. currassavica instead of the incarnata. The leaves are different on a lot of the milkweeds also, especially the wild ones. The ones we have here have really thick leaves.
Did a google for Texas Asclepias and found this:
http://asclepias.homestead.com/
Thanks for that link. There are some great pics to go by. I really hope my Swamp Milkweed does better and blooms next year. I've never actually researched how long it takes for it to bloom. Maybe it doesn't until it's 2nd or 3rd year, otherwise there really wasn't a reason for mine not to. It did have a problem with aphids this year, but I had hover flies that took care of them fairly well.
Mine still have aphids, orange ones. There are a few ladybugs but, not enough. Most perennials won't bloom the first year. !'m going to start some inside tomorrow. If they send up a shoot I will put them back outside and try to trick them into thinking next spring is their 2nd year! :-)
Yes kkb, that is the Asclepias currassavica (swamp milkweed).
Another great link John.
Good luck with your babies, its hard to save a plant to be eaten by a special visitor when every aphid or other sucker comes by and wants to have an incidental snack. Maybe you could plant something aphids like to eat more near by.
iluveverbdy(;>)