No, I don't think so, as many people have raised Monarch caterpillar successfully with curassavica there. The choice is yours, but more important is whether plants are safe (not sprayed with pesticides) for the caterpillars. Almost all of the milkweed plants sold in nurseries here have been sprayed, often with systemic pesticides that remain in the plants for very long periods of time. I grow both A. curassavica and two kinds of milkweed native to Texas. Mostly I grow them from seed or cuttings. But sometimes I do buy A. curassavica from a nursery I trust more.

Well I am starting late in the season but will be growing from seed. I did this once before a couple of years ago but all the cats were killed by wasps before reaching the chrysalis stage. It was pretty rough to watch and nothing I could do to prevent it. I pretty much have written this season off but will have mature plants for next year.

I agree...it is SAD when they that happens. I've been raising American Lady caterpillars for the last month or so. The first two I found were parasitized by a kind of fly and didn't even get very big before succumbing. But now i have one that' I brought in when still tiny, so it might make it. This species makes nests, so I had to open its nest to take a picture. Then I gave it a fresh piece of Sweet Everlasting to use and put it back in its container.

I guess its a good thing they lay so many eggs. One butterfly pretty much populated all my plants. I think at one point I counted over 90 eggs. We have alot of American/Painted ladies here but I can't seem to find out what they eat as Cats.

Toney, sorry your caterpillars got killed by the wasps.

Linda, great job raising your caterpillars, cool photo.

I had no idea that wasps would kill caterpillars. I've seen lots of wasps around here and I wonder if that's what happened to the Gulf Fritillary caterpillars that are suddenly gone?

Toney: Here's some great information on the American Lady B'fly and the Painted Lady:

Scroll down this page for a list of host plants for the American Lady: http://www.butterfliesandmoths...

Scroll down this page for a list of host plants for the Painted Lady: http://www.butterfliesandmoths...

Lots of things directly kill or parasitize caterpillars...they're like a universal food source. And that's why different species use survival strategies. Some are toxic to predators because of the host plant, some resemble bird droppiings...or other species that ARE toxic, some build nests or hide underneath leaves, some have osmetriums that can stick out and give out a very unpleasant smell, some have eyespots, some hide under the mulch or dead leaves during the day. And then there's stinging caterpillars or those on stinging host plants (like stinging nettle). And some species lay a LOT of eggs, on the theory that surely some caterpillars must survive out of that many.

Linda, Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge about these wonderful creatures!

plantladylin said:I had no idea that wasps would kill caterpillars. I've seen lots of wasps around here and I wonder if that's what happened to the Gulf Fritillary caterpillars that are suddenly gone?

Toney: Here's some great information on the American Lady B'fly and the Painted Lady:

Scroll down this page for a list of host plants for the American Lady: http://www.butterfliesandmoths...

Scroll down this page for a list of host plants for the Painted Lady: http://www.butterfliesandmoths...

Thanks for that information.

Harlequin bug and wasp eating caterpillars.





Wasps eat lots of insects...


and spiders...

What if you covered plants that have cats on them with the netting people use to keep birds off their berries? Would that improve the cats' chances?

Most insects could probably get through that netting. Some butterfly supply sites sell some "sleeves", however that are intended to protect the caterpillars if put over branches or smaller plants. Some people make their own also.
Example:
http://www.bioquip.com/search/...

Interesting, Linda! thanks for the link.

I don't worry to much about the predators of butterfly cats. Nature can take care of itself, its usually only when us humans meddle that things go awry. Now I'm not dissuading the practice of protecting butterfly caterpillars, I think its great and is fun, interesting and educational, but for those that don't: don't worry about it (unless its a really rare species, you're really probably not affecting the population as a whole). An adult butterfly can lay hundreds of eggs. Lepidoptera caterpillars (though moths are far more numerous than butterflies) are a huge part of the base of the food chain, its vital to the ecosystem that they are predated on. The best thing we can do for the butterfly population as a whole is plant more host plants and not use harmful things that would kill them (Bt, other pesticides especially systematic ones). To promote this in my area I took our planners recommended "planting list" (common native species in our region that the planners ask the developers to use when replanting near natural areas, no non-natives or rare species allowed next to natural areas) and cross referenced it with out local butterflies.

So heres my local list of butterflies and their host plants, and on the other tabs are locally common plant species and what butterflies they may host (Edit: they have launched our new webpage, butterfly host plant list now has its own page): http://conservationhalton.ca/o...

PS: those "sleeves" are great for outdoor protection but if you want to bring them indoors I like these ones (and have a few of the smaller versions myself): http://www.bioquip.com/search/...

Brenda VR, thank you for the information and welcome to All Things Plants!

Thanks Linda!

Glad to see interest in butterfly gardening. (now I just gota convince my neighbors to plant some host plants) ;P My 'holy grail' butterfly would be a Pipevine or Spicebush Swallowtail...I would be protecting those cats...but they are not regulars in my area.

Hi Brenda, welcome, and thanks for the info! We have a few Canadians here at ATP, and a few wannabes, like me, lol. Both of my parents were Canadian.

I planted a milkweed species (Asclepias physocarpa) from Africa that grows into a tree. At present both plants are taller than me. 1 has to be 7ft tall and the other is about 6'5". It attracts ladybugs as well and reseeds like crazy.

http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/p...

Hi folks, I'm just popping in right now, to share this link:

http://us8.campaign-archive1.c...

The blog associated with this, The Deep Middle, is one I've followed for a little over a year, I think, though it is based in the Midwest (Nebraska) and different region than mine. Still, the writer (Benjamin Vogt) knows a great deal about native plants and planting for wildlife, specifically for Monarchs. He has become pretty focused on Monarchs and this newsletter shares his latest experiences, which are quite positive for the butterflies! in terms of numbers.

Some great photos and generally good information, so I like to pass the word about his work when I can. Thanks for having a look and for gardening.