click on image to enlarge
Meet Euchaetes egle - the milkweed tussock moth or milkweed tiger moth. This photo was taken the other day on the
butterfly ranch of a late-instar caterpillar.
This insect is a common mid- through late-summer feeder on milkweed
plants and just like the monarch butterfly it acquires a chemical defense from feeding on this plant. The cardiac
glycosides are retained in adults and possibly deter bats from feeding upon
them.
The larva in the photo is far more
striking in appearance than the adult moth which is rather plain and ordinary
in appearance.
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