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Photo#64606
Milkweed Tussock Moth--early instar - Euchaetes egle
Copyright © 2006 Cotinis

Milkweed Tussock Moth--early instar - Euchaetes egle
Anderson Point Park, Wake County, North Carolina, USA
July 15, 2006
Size: circa 4 mm
These were skeletonizing the leaves of Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca. (John Connors of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences noticed the caterpillars on these plants that he transplanted to the park.) They were being preyed upon by Anchor Stink Bugs:


A new BugGuide record for North Carolina.
Contributed by Cotinis on 17 July, 2006 - 3:00pm
Last updated 22 July, 2006 - 1:14am

Great job, Pat:-)
Way to go, making the ecological connections like that. I recall once finding two or three of these stinkbugs prowling the webs of some kind of caterpillar on a tree in Cincinnati. You took the time to identify all the participants here:-)
… Eric R. Eaton, 17 July, 2006 - 3:09pm

 
Thanks, credit
John Connors deserves a large part of the credit--he was familiar with the caterpillars and noticed them there. However, we did not watch out for the behavior until I pulled out my copy of How to Know the True Bugs and read that the stink bugs were predatory. Lo and behold, as we watched, one of them moved in and started skewering caterpillars.
… Cotinis, 17 July, 2006 - 3:37pm

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