Milkweed Tussock Moth

Notes:

Euchaetes egle, the Milkweed Tiger Moth, called the Milkweed Tussock Moth, eats both milkweed and dogbane. Both milkweed and dogbane are in the Apocynaceae family. (Dogbane is often mistaken for milkweed by people who raise Monarch caterpillars. Although their flowers and seed pods are not similar, their leaves are almost identical.) Milkweed Tussock Moths lay their eggs in large clusters and sometimes cover their eggs with scales from their abdomens. Their egg clusters are often mistaken for spider egg sacs. Egg clusters, at other times, are laid without a scale covering. Caterpillars are gregarious, staying closely together as they eat. Older caterpillars may separate a bit from each other on the plant. Young caterpillars leave part of the leaf skeleton, a distinctive marker that this is/was the species that were eating the plant. Monarch and Queen caterpillars eat the entire leaf area or the entire leaf, not leaving a skeleton of the leaf behind.