I have 5 milkweed patches, all have problems with fungus (lower leaves spot and turn yellow and then fall off), aphids, and milkweed bugs. I have lots of adults Monarchs and plenty of eggs. But shortly after hatching, the tiny cats die/disappear. They eat a little milkweed then are gone. The first year I planted milkweed I had tons of growing cats at this time of year, and the weather wasn't nearly this nice. Can anyone tell me what the problem might be and if there is anything I can do? Thanks, Sheila
Where are all of my Monarch cats?
Sheila,
Aphids excrete a substance called 'honeydew' which of course, is a bit sticky. A fungus called sooty mold forms on it. It's not supposed to be harmful...but it is unsightly.
Check for predatory bugs on your milkweed. They might be what's killing off your early instars. Of course, a bigger caterpillar will eat an egg or first instar when it's chomping down on leaves.
I wash off the aphids from mine plants by using a gentle spray from the water hose and my fingers or a paint brush to knock off the sluggish ones. Haven't knocked off any eggs that I've noticed. I do however, move the caterpillars away when I'm doing it...no sense knocking those little guys off and risk drowning them.
If your plants do not have caterpillars or eggs you can also use a spray bottle filled with water and a bit of dish soap to spray the aphids. Leave it on for a couple of mintues then rinse the plants off with clean water and get all the soap residue off.
Will tell you a story - I picked some leaves late at night to feed some cats I was rearing - tossed them into a bowl of soapy water and used a toothbrush to get the aphids off. Was rinsing them off when I noticed some eggs on the leaves....rut roh. Well, the eggs hadn't come off during all that so I put those leaves with eggs in a separate cat-house and they all hatched!!! Guess those eggs are tougher than we think.
~ Cat (south tip of Texas)
Shelia, See how nice someone solved your problem.
Art
Thanks much for all of your help. I will give it a try. Sheila
Cat, I did the same thing this year - washed an egg! I was surprised that it didn't come off the leaf and glad to know that they are on tight. I won't be as afraid of knocking them off now.