Another batch of Cycnia collaris, formerly Cycnia
inopinatus, is munching its way through the clump of Common Milkweed beside my
front porch. I’m assuming these larvae
to be the offspring of the brood that showed up in May and went into pupation a
few weeks ago. That would make these larvae brood two .
More than a few of the brood one Cycnia
larvae must have avoided playing host to Tachinid fly offspring and survived to adulthood. I counted 69 larvae of this State Endangered
moth species feeding on a single milkweed plant. Additional larvae were present on many other
milkweed plants close by. As with the
previous brood, it appears that the adults emerged from the leaf litter at the
base of the plants and deposited a nice batch of eggs on plants readily
accessible.
Larvae just recently moved onto the leaf on the left side of
the photo. They made the move after
reducing the leaf on the right to a bare skeleton.
There’s not much tender young growth on the milkweed plants
right now. This doesn’t seem to slow
down the Cycnia larvae at all. The
smallest larvae appear to have no trouble dining on the oldest and toughest of
leaves. The thick leaves allow the
larvae to eat a lot without moving very far.
This sometimes results in a frass chain forming behind the larva.
Several severe storms have knocked down the milkweeds during
the last few weeks. Some plants have
given up trying to right themselves.
The Cycnia females found the horizontal milkweeds to be just
as desirable as those in a vertical position.
The larvae are quickly stripping the edible material from these
leaves. Having this action occurring
right outside my front door has provided an ideal opportunity to learn something
about the habits of this rare species.
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