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Photo#709065
Monarch Caterpillar - Danaus plexippus - Danaus plexippus

Monarch Caterpillar - Danaus plexippus - Danaus plexippus
Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama, USA
September 28, 2012
Size: ~ 1.5"
Thought monarchs only ate milkweed? Found five caterpillars in the setcreasea that grows in the same bed. Coincidence? Should I relocate the cats to the milkweed?

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Monarch Caterpillar - Danaus plexippus - Danaus plexippus Monarch Caterpillar - Danaus plexippus - Danaus plexippus

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

 
a serious question
Thanks for the positive ID. I really am concerned that the caterpillars have run out of food. Do they eat anything besides milkweed? The few scraggly plants I've got are stripped down to the stalk already. How long do the cats feed? Should I move them to a friend's yard who has lots of milkweed? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated - I'd hate to lose this opportunity to help the monarchs thrive!

 
You can bring the caterpillars and some Milkweed leaves
right inside in a terrarium. The caterpillars will be happy to feed in a protected area as long as you keep supplying them with fresh leaves! You can read a nice article here

 
Thanks for the redirect!
Unfortunately it seems the cats have all gone somewhere else. We had a continuous rain yesterday, so I don't know if that was part of the problem - although mid-day they were still clustered on the stems. Could be that they just ran out of food. Maybe they're off to find a place to hang - I can only hope! Thanks for your help!

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