Aphids, Milkweed & Baby Monarch Caterpillars... Advice Needed.. Advice needed... I went to check on the babies this morning.... I only found two... but also noticed aphids at the tips...

angela k Loc: Long Island

Advice needed...

I went to check on the babies this morning.... I only found two... but also noticed aphids at the tips of the plant.
Thank goodness for plastic gloves, I squished them between my fingers... YUCK but is there anything I can use to kill them and not harm the babies???

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

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SS319

By choosing winners and losers, you are playing the part of God! Aphids have a purpose in life and they help ensure the survival of the fittest. Kill the aphids and the Monarchs will die.

I recommend you read about the increasing elk herd in Yellowstone through the re-introduction of their main non-human predator, the grey wolf.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

You can purchase lady beetles online in baggies of 1500 for just a few dollars. They will eat the aphids and not harm the caterpillars. I tried that with some milkweed plants I had and it worked to a point. I had so many aphids I finally pulled out the plants and will need to get more in the Spring. I don't remember the name of the company but put ladybugs for sale in the search line and lots should come up.

Dennis

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

angela k wrote:

Advice needed...

I went to check on the babies this morning.... I only found two... but also noticed aphids at the tips of the plant.
Thank goodness for plastic gloves, I squished them between my fingers... YUCK but is there anything I can use to kill them and not harm the babies???

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Aphids seem to be a problem with Milkweed, at least in my experience. I found in my research that hosing them off with a strong stream of water is the most recommended suggestion, but you've got to be careful not to hose off the eggs and/or larvae at the same time. I have had the progression from egg to adult proceed successfully with aphids on the plant.

p.s.
The aphids I have had are yellow, not black.

angela k Loc: Long Island

SS319 wrote:

By choosing winners and losers, you are playing the part of God! Aphids have a purpose in life and they help ensure the survival of the fittest. Kill the aphids and the Monarchs will die.

I recommend you read about the increasing elk herd in Yellowstone through the re-introduction of their main non-human predator, the grey wolf.

Thanks for your comment.

angela k Loc: Long Island

dennis2146 wrote:

You can purchase lady beetles online in baggies of 1500 for just a few dollars. They will eat the aphids and not harm the caterpillars. I tried that with some milkweed plants I had and it worked to a point. I had so many aphids I finally pulled out the plants and will need to get more in the Spring. I don't remember the name of the company but put ladybugs for sale in the search line and lots should come up.

Dennis

Thanks Dennis for this info.... luckily I caught them early and I just squished them and now I'll just dab the ones I see with alcohol and be done with them. The two caterpillars I did find, I might cut the branch off and keep them safe in an open tank.

angela k Loc: Long Island

Mac wrote:

Aphids seem to be a problem with Milkweed, at least in my experience. I found in my research that hosing them off with a strong stream of water is the most recommended suggestion, but you've got to be careful not to hose off the eggs and/or larvae at the same time. I have had the progression from egg to adult proceed successfully with aphids on the plant.

p.s.
The aphids I have had are yellow, not black.

Mac, these aphids are the yellow/orange type and since I caught them early, I squished what I saw and now I'll just dab the others that reappear with alcohol. Since I only found two cats, I might keep them in an open container until the next stage.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

angela k wrote:

Mac, these aphids are the yellow/orange type and since I caught them early, I squished what I saw and now I'll just dab the others that reappear with alcohol. Since I only found two cats, I might keep them in an open container until the next stage.

They will need to eat the milkweed leaves until large. And then they usually crawl some distance to find a place to pupate. Sometimes it is better to have only a few caterpillars - if you have too many they will strip the milkweed plants and then die.

angela k Loc: Long Island

sb wrote:

They will need to eat the milkweed leaves until large. And then they usually crawl some distance to find a place to pupate. Sometimes it is better to have only a few caterpillars - if you have too many they will strip the milkweed plants and then die.

Thanks for your comment sb.... there were so many babies at one time, now I'm only seeing two. Today I might clip the branch they're on and contain them where I can watch the growth.

Tom DePuy Loc: Waxhaw, N.C.

angela k wrote:

Advice needed...

I went to check on the babies this morning.... I only found two... but also noticed aphids at the tips of the plant.
Thank goodness for plastic gloves, I squished them between my fingers... YUCK but is there anything I can use to kill them and not harm the babies???

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

http://monarchbutterflygarden.net/control-aphids-milkweed-plants/

angela k Loc: Long Island

Tom DePuy wrote:

http://monarchbutterflygarden.net/control-aphids-milkweed-plants/

shelty Loc: Medford, OR

dennis2146 wrote:

You can purchase lady beetles online in baggies of 1500 for just a few dollars. They will eat the aphids and not harm the caterpillars. I tried that with some milkweed plants I had and it worked to a point. I had so many aphids I finally pulled out the plants and will need to get more in the Spring. I don't remember the name of the company but put ladybugs for sale in the search line and lots should come up.

Dennis

Have you ever tried a soap solution? Spray a solution of soap on them and they will die.

Swamp-Cork Loc: Lanexa, Virginia

The orange ones are always thick on ours also, Angela and have stopped trying to keep them off. One butterfly book that I read said that it didn't seem to matter that much and am afraid more damage may be done trying to remove them than just doing nothing, although I can't keep from wiping or flicking a few off from time to time!

angela k Loc: Long Island

shelty wrote:

Have you ever tried a soap solution? Spray a solution of soap on them and they will die.

Thanks for this suggestion, but I don't want to harm the eggs or baby cats.... I was lucky that I caught them early and was able to just squish them between my fingers!!

angela k Loc: Long Island

Swamp-Cork wrote:

The orange ones are always thick on ours also, Angela and have stopped trying to keep them off. One butterfly book that I read said that it didn't seem to matter that much and am afraid more damage may be done trying to remove them than just doing nothing, although I can't keep from wiping or flicking a few off from time to time!

Corky, mine are orangy color also and big and juicy... but I was lucky I spotted them early, so I put on rubber gloves and I just squished them all... problem solved!!
But... yesterday morning I found a cute cat, about an inch long and I was going to isolate her in a container... went back out an hour later and couldn't find it anywhere.... then I see this wierd beetle with a tiny cat stuck in his mouth.... killed him and then I found the 1" cat all shriveled up, the beetle must have sucked all the insides out :-(

I found a few more babies, cut the branches off, added them in a vase of water and now I isolated them all and can keep an eye on them.... mama monarch was back again, redepositing eggs this morning!!