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Project Noah Nature School
Chlosyne lacinia
These caterpillars were feeding together on a sunflower plant. I had been by earlier in the day an none were in sight. When I walked by the plant later, this group was busily feeding. By the next morning they had vanished again.
On sunflower plant in wildlife habitat yard.
Young caterpillars are gregarious and eat the underside of leaves and older caterpillars are solitary and eat leaves and stems. Third instar caterpillars hibernate. They may also go into diapause during the summer. The larval food source includes several plants in the family Asteraceae including sunflower, Helianthus sp., ragweed, Ambrosia trifida, crownbeard, Verbesina sp., and cockleburs, Xanthium sp. Males patrol around host plants or patrol and perch on hillsides in search of females. Eggs are laid in large groups on the underside of host plant leaves.
Spotted on Jul 8, 2013
Submitted on Jul 21, 2013
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