Stem notching by Monarch caterpillars
Jun 21, 2015 13:45:24 #
Milkweed plants earned their name because the plants sticky sap is white, and flows freely when a leaf vein is nicked or broken. This sap can actually glue-shut the mouth of grazing Monarch caterpillars, if they chew through a leaf vein. To prevent this, young, small caterpillars eat just the side parts of the leaf to avoid the main vein. Larger, late instar caterpillars, on the other hand, have a different strategy: they weaken the leaf stem until it folds over, closing-off the flow of sap. Then the caterpillar starts eating that leaf from the tip, all the way to the stem.
1.) Fifth instar Monarch caterpillar "notching" leaf stem.
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2.) Detail view of notched stem, as leaf starts to sag.
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3.) Fifth instar Monarch caterpillar consuming leaf, from the tip to the stem.
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4.) Fifth instar Monarch caterpiller nearly finishing-off milkweed leaf.
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Jun 21, 2015 14:18:59 #
Jun 22, 2015 00:10:46 #
Jun 22, 2015 08:39:38 #
How clever mother nature is, she never ceases to surprise me. Good educative post, thank you.
Jun 22, 2015 10:42:19 #
Jun 22, 2015 15:27:21 #
Jun 22, 2015 15:32:38 #
Jun 22, 2015 17:30:14 #
Jun 22, 2015 17:30:26 #
Jun 22, 2015 18:52:21 #
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