Milkweed Tussock Caterpillar

Description:

This caterpillar sported wild tufts of black, white, and orange hairs (setae), which are characteristic warning colors.. The head was black.

Habitat:

Spotted on milkweed in a meadow.

Notes:

As with monarch larvae, milkweed tiger moth caterpillars obtain cardiac glycosides from the milkweed that they feed on, and they continue to retain them as adults. But, while the milkweed tiger moth caterpillars have the bold warning colors of orange and black, the adult moth is drab and brown. Usually, you would expect the adults to also have bright warning colors just as the larvae do in order to scare off potential predators. However, the cardiac glycosides stored in the body of the moth are still put to good use, but in an unusual way. The milkweed tiger moth has an organ that emits an ultrasonic signal, which is easily detected by bats. The signal somehow warns that an attack will be rewarded with a noxious distasteful meal, and bats thus soon learn to avoid these tiger moths as potential prey.