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1. (above) I discovered two hungry Monarch caterpillars on my only milkweed
plant. They soon decimated the small plant, eating every leaf on the plant
and then gnawing on the ends of the stems. I tried feeding the caterpillars
various leaves (a green bean leaf, a tomato leaf, and a cucumber leaf) from
our garden, but they wouldn't eat any of the different plant leaves. My kids
refused to let the two Monarch caterpillars starve to death, so after
several hours of emailing and calling around, I found a person not too far
away with some milkweed in their yard, and they agreed that we could drop
our two caterpillars off and they would "foster them"...
2. (above) Two days later, a third Monarch caterpillar showed up on the
barren milkweed plant. I didn't want to drive him all the way over to the
person with the milkweed, so I began to search some more on the internet for
alternatives to milkweed for feeding Monarch caterpillars. I found a
reference that someone had fed Monarch caterpillars pumpkin, and it had
worked. I didn't have any pumpkin around, but my wife just happened to be
making butternut squash soup for dinner, and had some butternut squash left
over. I cut a slice and placed it by the plant. To my surprise, the Monarch
caterpillar began to eat the butternut squash!
3. (above) We moved the Monarch caterpillar to a
Tupperware container, and then began to feed him slices of butternut squash.
I'd replace the slices daily, as they would dry out. As you can see in the
above picture, the caterpillar's poop was orange! My son decide to name our
caterpillar "Butty"...
4. (above) Butty the Monarch caterpillar grew to full size
eating butternut squash, and then turned into a chrysalis.
5. (above) Butty then successfully emerged from his
chrysalis as a new Monarch butterfly. Seeing him come out was amazing.
6. (above) After a while, Butty the Monarch butterfly
successfully flew over to a nearby orange tree.
7. (above) Before leaving, Butty the Monarch butterfly
flew over and landed on my son's head, perhaps to give him a kiss and say
thank you before he took off. It was the strangest thing, as my son was just
standing there watching him, and then Buddy fluttered over and landed on my
son's head. We've seen a lot of Monarch butterflies since then, and we're
pretty sure several of them have been Butty, or Butty's offspring. Our lone
milkweed plant recovered and we've managed to raise other milkweed plants
from seed and now have several plants, and have since raised more Monarch
caterpillars and butterflies. We haven't fed any caterpillars butternut
squash since Butty, since we've had sufficient milkweed available, but now
we know that in a milkweed emergency, we can feed Monarch caterpillars
butternut squash and they'll be ok.
note: We only raised one caterpillar on butternut squash,
but if it worked for him, I think it would work on others. We also started
feeding the caterpillar the butternut squash when it was medium sized. I
don't know how smaller baby caterpillars would do. I haven't tried it again
because we haven't needed to, and I felt a little "Dr. Frankenstein" feeding
the caterpillar the butternut squash, so I'll probably only ever do it again
in an emergency.
August 2014
Comments / Questions / Feedback:
Comment by Kristn on Wednesday, September 09, 2015
Thank you so much for this tip. I had as many as 23 caterpillars eating on
my 20 or so milkweed plants. Over the last two days 10 have moved on to make a
chrysalis but the ones left have eaten up all my plants. I went and bought
organic butternut squash and though some still ate on the stems some are eating
the squash! I am so thankful!
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Kristn, Thank you for your feedback! I'm glad I was able to help. Feel
free to post an update on how your caterpillars do on the butternut squash. As I
remember, the squash can dry out, so I kept some in the fridge, and just put out
new slices as needed. Good luck!
Comment by Joyce on Friday, September 11, 2015
Thanks for this article! I just found my first 3 monarch caterpillars today
and my plant is just a few inches taller than yours, but with flowers and leaves
still intact. However, I found more eggs on the leaves, so I was starting to
worry that I wouldn't have enough milkweed for them. I'll definitely try out the
butternut squash! You're a real life saver! (of monarch butterflies) Thanks!
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Joyce, Thanks for your comment. Hopefully you'll have enough milkweed. I was
feeding the butternut squash to a "bigger" caterpillar so it could finish
growing and turn into a chrysalis. I'm not sure how really small ones would do
if the milkweed runs out just after the new eggs hatch. And of course, milkweed
is always better and is what the caterpillars are supposed to eat, so if you can
get more milkweed or plant more milkweed, that would be best. But it also seems,
as you get more milkweed you also can get more eggs and caterpillars. Sometimes
it's hard to have enough milkweed, no matter how much you have! Good luck and
let us know how things work out!
Comment by Ann on Saturday, November 14, 2015
I had to relocate 102 caterpillars this weekend and used butternut for the
last day before relocation for the biggest and fattest. Unfortunately, although
caterpillars do eat pumpkin, if it is the only food source it does result in
genetic abnormalities and so is not really suggested for complete eating. It is
fine, though, for caterpillars who are within 3-4 days of becoming a chrysalis -
as you have found out. The other plant they will happily and healthily eat is
moth vine, but since it is considered a noxious weed in New Zealand, it can be
hard to find.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Ann, Thanks for your comment and information. It makes sense you can't
"raise" Monarch caterpillars the entire time eating butternut squash or pumpkin.
I'm only suggesting it in an emergency if the caterpillars eat all the milkweed
and you have a few caterpillars left with no food (milkweed) who would start to
death if you don't do something. I'm not sure at exactly what size/age the
caterpillars can start eating butternut squash and then finish growing enough to
pupate into a chrysalis. You could certainly be right that it's only in the last
3-4 days. I'm pretty sure it's not much more than that. If the choice is between
a caterpillar going hungry and dying or getting some butternut squash to see if
it would work, I would get the squash and try (or my kids would never forgive
me)! I don't think anyone is going to try raising caterpillars using butternut
or pumpkin, because Monarch butterflies will only lay eggs on milkweed, so you
won't get any Monarch eggs and then Monarch caterpillars unless you have some
milkweed to begin with, but then it often gets eaten up and runs out before all
the caterpillars reach full size. The best answer is always to grow more
milkweed, but that's not a very good answer for a sad-faced kid holding a hungry
caterpillar when there's no more milkweed around! Again, thank you for your
comment and info and I would agree, butternut squash and/or pumpkin is for
emergency use only, and is only to "finish" the caterpillars, but isn't right to
feed them their whole (short) life.
Comment by Molly on Tuesday, January 05, 2016
Thanks for this tip. We still have several pumpkins and not so much
milkweed. When the Instar 5s begin to get closer to chrysalis, I'm breaking the
pumpkin open for nom nom.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Molly, Sound like a good use for your excess pumpkin! Good luck, and
thanks for commenting.
Comment by Selma on Thursday, March 10, 2016
Loved your story. Was the squash cooked or raw? Thank you
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Selma, The squash was raw, just like it would be in nature. Thanks for
your question!
Comment by Leslie Williamson on Sunday, May 08, 2016
Monarch caterpillars in their 5th instar will also eat cucumber if no
milkweed available. Honest.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Leslie, Thanks for the suggestion. Have you feed Monarch caterpillars
cucumber then? I'm tempted to try it and see how it works (you're saying just
the bigger 5th instar caterpillars can eat it), but I have plenty of milkweed
right now and no caterpillars. Good to know. I'd be curious if others have had
success with cucumber. Interesting... Thanks for
your comment.
Comment by Alex on Friday, May 20, 2016
My milkweed plant has tiny, bright orange bugs. Are these the larva monarch?
I almost brushed them off.... then I realized they maybe Monarch. I've looked
all over the web for any kind of pics and can't find out. Help....
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Alex, I'm guessing your tiny bright orange bugs are milkweed aphids. I
have another page on this website that is an image gallery, and I've posted a
picture of orange milkweed aphids on it. Check it out, and see if that's what
you have. Aphids won't kill your milkweed, but they do feed off it by sucking
out the plant juice, and will reduce how well the milkweed grows. You can try to
wipe them off and get rid of them, but I've found they multiply so fast they're
hard to get rid of. They won't effect the Monarchs, they'll just reduce the
vitality of your milkweed.
Comment by Debbie Willians on Saturday, June 11, 2016
Thanks so much for the info. 50+ large cats and fixing to run out of
milkweed. Cucumbers really do work!!!
Comment by Elle on Sunday, August 14, 2016
Can you feed the caterpillars oranges, strawberries, grapes, or blueberries?
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Elle, Monarch caterpillars wouldn't eat the fruit you mention. They
really only eat milkweed, which is why the Monarch butterflies find the milkweed
to lay their eggs on it. But if you run out of milkweed, at least the older
caterpillars will eat butternut squash (and pumpkin I think), and will grow
enough to then turn into chrysalises and then butterflies. But I don't know of
anything else they will eat. When we ran out of milkweed, we tried all kinds of
different leaves and other things from our garden, but the only thing they would
eat was the butternut squash. Good luck, and thanks for commenting!
Comment by Sherron on Thursday, August 25, 2016
Thank you!!! I live in Washington, D.C. Monarch butterflies are hanging out
in the city! I planted milkweed this spring and only 6 stalks came up. I
guess there is still hope for me. Thank you for sharing your story. :)
Comment by Cathy in southern Alabama on Thursday, September 08, 2016
I too, ran out of milkweed plants for the caterpillars. I didn't have
butternut squash available, but I had zucchini, and guess what? They are all
over it! Eating away! I am glad I saw this post online...Thank you!
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Cathy, Thanks for sharing this. I didn't know that Monarch caterpillars
can and will eat zucchini. That's great to know. I do know that when we've grown
zucchini in our garden in the past, it's been extremely prolific, and we end up
with more zucchini than we know what to do with. We give lots of zucchini away
to neighbors... so much that one neighbor joked that they might have to stop
answering the door during "zucchini season". Thanks for commenting and sharing
your information!
Comment by Trudy on Thursday, September 08, 2016
How do you tell if the monarch caterpillars is in its 5th instar??? I have
lots of caterpillars on my milkweed and I'm afraid they are going to run out of
leaves to eat. I have some butternut squash and zucchini but I don't know if the
caterpillars are big enough to transfer yet. Also, if I put them in Tupperware.
What do I put in for them to pupae on?
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Trudy, Good questions. I don't know how you tell exactly which instar
they are at. I just know each time they molt and shed their skin to get bigger,
that is an instar, and they go through five instars before they pupate. One
source says the approximate length of the caterpillars at each instar is as
follows (if you wanted to try to measure your caterpillars): 1st instar = 2-6mm;
2nd instar = 6-9mm; 3rd instar = 10-14mm; 4th instar = 13-25mm; 5th instar =
25-45mm. If they are pretty big, they should be ok eating the butternut squash.
If they are smaller, they might not make it. But if you run out of milkweed,
there isn't much else you can do. If you put them in a tupperware, you just need
to make sure the container has holes so they get fresh air, but that they can't
get out. I put some cloth mesh instead of a lid over the top of my container.
They make their silk button and pupate hanging on the mesh, but I've also had
them do it on a popsicle stick. I'd guess they can also make a silk button on
the underside of a tupperware lid. They can grab onto almost anything. Good luck
with your caterpillars.
Comment by Trudy on Monday, September 12, 2016
Hi Steve. Thanks for your advice on my monarch caterpillars. I tried
transferring 3 from outside into a container with some butternut squash. They
refused to eat overnight, so I put them back on the mostly stripped milkweed
plants. This morning I threaded some cucumber chunks on the milkweed limbs, and
they and their many friends are liking it!!!! Chomping away. Do you think if I
move them from outside back into a container they will continue to eat the
cucumber? It's going to be in the 90s today and I'm afraid the cucumber will dry
out quickly. Also, it would be much easier to keep an eye on them and see when
they need more, and to protect them through pupation.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Trudy, I'm not sure what to recommend to you. As for the butternut
squash, it was two years ago that I used it to feed caterpillars. I'm not sure
if they ate it right away, or after they got "sufficiently hungry". I don't
think they'll eat it right away since they'd really rather have milkweed, but I
just can't remember how long it takes before they'll eat it. I just know that
the caterpillars eventually did eat the butternut squash and did fine. If you
had more luck with the cucumber (which I never used but others say works) then
I'd stick with it. Also, I talked to a "butterfly expert" and said I was afraid
the caterpillars might starve to death if I didn't get them more food within a
day, and the "expert" said they can go for several days without food. In any
event, you might put some caterpillars in a container with both cucumber and
butternut squash and see what happens. Good luck!
Comment by Trudy on Sunday, September 18, 2016
Hi Steve. My caterpillars in my tupperware container ate cucumbers for a few
days, but a local nursery got some milkweed in, and so I transferred them over
to it. They have been eating happily, and crawling on to the screen cover of the
tupperware my husband made for me, to turn into pupae. I now have 13 cocoons
hanging straight down from the screen cover, and 1 caterpillar still eating. Ok.
When these little guys start to emerge, what do they need in terms of space?
Will they be able to cling to the screen (it's a rather fine mesh) or to their
empty cocoons to let their wings dry? Should I take the milkweed plants (they
are in pots) out of the Tupperware to give them more room, or would they maybe
like to stand on or hang from the leaves or stems when they emerge? If they need
to hang upside down for a while I'm just not sure what is the best way to
accommodate them in my situation. Suggestions?
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Trudy, Congratulations on getting so many chrysalises! Wow! When the
butterflies "hatch", from what we've seen (and it's fun to watch), they will
emerge from the chrysalis and then hang on the empty chrysalis while they unfurl
and pump up their wings, and then let their wings harden and dry. They might
crawl around a bit and might hang from the mesh. They need to have their wings
hang down while the wings are hardening. After a while, they'll then flutter
around and fly away. So you'll want to make sure they have a way to fly out of
the enclosure if they are still in it. Good luck!
Comment by Elaine on Thursday, September 22, 2016
Thank you so much for this, I am trying the pumpkin and butternut. I had 3
milkweed plants out of 10 seedlings to survive. I had 32 caterpillars the other
day, today I had 3 leaves left and 19. I have moved them to a container with the
pumpkin and butternut. Tomorrow my netting cage arrives and they will be moved
there. I will keep you posted on how my guys do. I believe its a better chance
than none at all.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Elaine. Wow, that's a lot of caterpillars. Hopefully all or most of your
caterpillars are fairly big already. I wish you the best. Good luck!
Comment by Elaine on Monday, September 26, 2016
Update, I have 32 caterpillars, I found some more milkweed so I keep giving
them the fresh clippings and still butternut because some love it. I am
hoping I have some start soon with the cocoons. We shall see what happens, I
feel like at least I am trying here.
Comment by Mike on Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Great site and info Steve. One thing you may consider is introducing your
readers to the Monarch Larva Monitoring
Project for additional information and to advance Monarch research through
citizen science. I get many caterpillars and my next venture will be to try and
raise them.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Mike. Thanks for your comment and for the link to the Monarch Lava
Monitoring Project at the University of Minnesota. I just took a quick look, and
it looks very interesting. I'll check it out more when I have more time.
Comment by Elaine on Wednesday, November 09, 2016
I successfully released 14 out of my 32. A few I lost to black death, others
to heavy OE and deformities.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Elaine, Thanks for the update. I wish all your caterpillars had made it,
but I glad to hear the 14 caterpillars survived. That's almost half, which is
much better than they do in the wild I think. It always hurts to lose any of
them, but it's great that 14 are now butterflies.
Comment by Stephanie on Tuesday, November 22, 2016
We have one milkweed plant in our small flower garden that has been covered
with monarch caterpillars for the past month or more. The closest tree is about
20 feet away. Are the caterpillars able to crawl that far to pupate?
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Stephanie, I think your caterpillars can easily crawl that far. We have
found chrysalises at least that far away from our milkweed plants. They can also
pupate on walls, chairs, bushes, pots, and just about anywhere they can hang.
Good luck with your caterpillars.
Comment by anonymous on Saturday, December 10, 2016
So glad to get this information on alternate foods for the monarch
caterpillars. There is at least one more plant that we've found they will
use as a host plant. Eggs were laid on a Vinelike Milk Weed that has a Milky
sap. They Hatch, and eat this Vine. There are Heart-shaped leaves type of
vine.
Comment by Jann Wittneben on Thursday, December 15, 2016
I tried the butternut squash and have some of the youngsters (3 and 4 Instar)
are eating it too. not all of them but some. The 5th instar are all over it!
We're thrilled! We have about 50 cats and of course they've stripped the 75 plus
plants we had in the yard, and in containers. So I can't thank you enough for
putting this info out there where we could find out about the alternative food
source. It's saved several dozen so far. We live south of Houston and it's Dec.
15th and still have new eggs coming on. The warm weather has really created
havoc down here. The Monarchs have stayed too long; producing into Winter will
leave thousands starving. We'll do what we can for as long as we can. The
majority of North bound Monarchs will start arriving mid March. We're
propagating as many new plants as we can. Thanks!
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Jann, Wow! Thanks for letting me know this information helped and about
your experience. Very interesting, especially for this time of year! I really
appreciate the hard work you're doing for the Monarch butterfly! Good luck and
Merry Christmas!
Comment by Kelcey on Tuesday, January 31, 2017
If the caterpillars have striped your milkweed plant bare can you save the
plant to re-grow ?
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Kelcey, Yes, even if the caterpillars have eaten all the leaves and the
plant is just stems, after a while, new leaves will sprout and grow. My milkweed
plants have been stripped several times. That said, it is tough on the plant,
and it's better if it gets a chance to grow and get bigger before it gets hit by
hungry caterpillars again, but there's not a lot you can do about that. The best
thing you can do is just grow more milkweed, but for your current plant, leave
it alone and it should grow new leaves. Good luck!
Comment by Meme on Wednesday, June 14, 2017
I had a monarch on a small native milkweed and before I could get a chance
to buy more it ate all of it. Due to long work days after nurseries close I was
desperate and gave it some cucumber after reading about this online, which it
happily ate up. I then found some different milkweed but it wouldn't eat the
milkweed. I tried to find the same native milkweed that it had eaten before to
no avail and it refused to eat any other milkweed. Sadly it eventually died
after three days of no eating. I even had tried to give it more cucumber as a
last resort but it declined. It was probably a third or fourth instar when this
all happened and there was no sign of disease so not sure why it stopped
eating-either because the cucumber caused problems after eating it or because I
couldn't find more of the same milkweed it had hatched on and had been eating
before I ran out.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Meme, Thanks for sharing your experience. I don't know why your
caterpillar wouldn't eat the other milkweed. Maybe he wasn't doing so well after
eating the cucumber. I know other people have reported Monarch caterpillars can
eat cucumber, but I've always wondered how many nutrients they really get from
it. In any event, just like with the butternut squash, they shouldn't start
eating it until they are pretty big, and it's really just for them to finish
growing enough to be able to pupate and turn into a chrysalis. But if they eat
all the milkweed and you don't have any more, its an option to try and hope for
the best. Sorry to hear after all your work and stress that your caterpillar
didn't make it.
Comment by Meme on Thursday, June 15, 2017
How are people having so many caterpillars? I have less than 10 and am
running out of milkweed faster than I can keep up with these hungry cats and
ironically the more milkweed I buy to feed the ones I have the more cats I have
as new ones keep hatching. I have a balcony vs a big yard and not enough space
to keep buying milkweed but I don't know what else I can do when I need more
milkweed to feed them as they eat so much. It also makes me wonder how to raise
so many in Tupperware with just stem cuttings when they chomp down an entire
plant overnight. I even had a cat eat another cat despite that the plant was big
enough for both.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Meme, Raising Monarch caterpillars can be very challenging. We only had
one plant when we started, and three hungry caterpillars wiped it out, which is
how I discovered that they can also eat butternut squash (in an emergency and
when they are bigger). Since then, we have planted more milkweed, but our plants
can still get temporarily wiped out (they grow back). Because a single butterfly
can lay 300 eggs, and a single caterpillar can eat 30 or more full leaves as
they grow up, it's pretty easy to run out of milkweed. Its kind of feast or
famine. Sometimes we have plenty of milkweed and no caterpillars (like right
now) and other times our plants are wiped out. What has helped in our case is we
have found some other milkweed plants in our neighborhood (our local elementary
school has some plants). If we end up with too many caterpillars, we "relocate"
some to other areas, unless those areas are also wiped out. Again, it is
definitely a challenge, and can be very tough when you end up with hungry
caterpillars and no milkweed. Good luck!
Comment by Jen on Tuesday, June 20, 2017
I have been raising Monarchs with great success. I got low on milkweed.
Supplemented with squash. Went great. I have released about fifty last few days.
I had to euthanize seven. All huge abdomens. Lower wings not formed. Never had
this till I started the squash. Any ideas?
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Jen, Thank you for commenting and sharing your experience. The Monarch
caterpillars that I fed butternut squash to turned out ok, but I only used
squash because they had eaten all the milkweed. I assumed the squash does not
have the same nutrients as milkweed, and isn't as good for them as milkweed, so
I was kind of surprised the caterpillars survived and turned into butterflies.
But I think your experiences shows the bigger picture. Squash is better than
nothing, but is not as good as milkweed. If you had 50 butterflies make it and
only 7 not make it, I think that's pretty good, but it's also shows that some
probably won't make it on butternut squash. I actually only had to use squash
once as an emergency food, and since then I've found other milkweed plants at
our local elementary school and at a local park. I've "relocated" a few
caterpillars to both these places when my own milkweed was temporarily wiped
out. You might look around your neighborhood and see if you can find any other
places with milkweed. Thanks again for commenting, and for pointing out that
while squash is better than nothing, it's probably not as good as milkweed.
Comment by Rebecca on Sunday, July 23, 2017
I got my first milkweed plant this past May and so far have released only 12
monarchs out of many more caterpillars. Right now I have 34 probably 4-5 stage
caterpillars in a porch area in containers that I had to buy butternut squash
for and many more on milkweed plants outside that are fending for themselves.
The comments on this site have been very helpful. I will string some butternut
squash for those outside since the plants are pretty stripped. My question is
regarding released monarch butterflies - what happens when you release them and
there are no milkweed plants for them to come back and lay their eggs on because
they are stripped? Any info. re that question would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks to all for your comments!!!
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Rebecca, Thanks for your comment! I would assume if butterflies found
your milkweed in the first place and laid eggs, it is because there is other
milkweed in your area. So even if your milkweed plants get temporarily stripped,
the butterflies would find milkweed somewhere else. If all your milkweed plants
do get temporarily stripped, if you can help any remaining caterpillars get to
full size by eating the emergency squash, they can then turn into butterflies
and fly away, and eventually find other milkweed when it is time to lay eggs and
continue the cycle.
Comment by Richard Voelkel on Tuesday, September 04, 2018
We have some milkweed in our yard in Lavallette, NJ and have attracted
numerous monarchs and cats. Unfortunately, many have succumbed to wasps and
assassin bugs. I grew a number of new milkweeds to plant by the bay here and
discovered 3 cats on one small plant. When I returned several hours later I
only found 2 on the decimated milkweed and the third chomping on a nearby
seaside goldenrod. Is this another possible food source?
All have been relocated to my home milkweeds under a protective screen.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Richard, Thanks for your comment and observation. I've never seen any
other references to seaside goldenrod being an alternative food source for
Monarch caterpillars, and actually am not even really sure what that plant
looks like. How much of the seaside goldenrod was eaten, or did the
caterpillar just seem to be experimenting? Let us know if you have any
further observations on this. Thanks!
Reply by Richard Voelkel on Tuesday, September 04, 2018
I will do some experimenting when we return to the Jersey Shore after some
events in our main home in Maryland. It looked like the cat did eat some of
the goldenrod, but hard to tell so soon. By the way - I have had
almost 100% germination of milkweed seeds by keeping them moistly packed in
a ziplock bag in the fridge for several months before planting.
Comment by robin on Friday, October 12, 2018
I'm thrilled to discover this post. Several years ago, I had a very similar,
mind-blowing experience with my Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars: my family
and I were munching on a watermelon, and cast some of the rinds into the
flower bed where I have growing mounds of Dutchman's Pipevine but was chewed
down to the stalks. We were amazed to discover some of the caterpillars
devouring the remaining flesh on the rinds. Since then, I've reintroduced
the melon wondering if they would be interested and sure enough...Yay! We
weren't seeing things!
So, butternut squash, pumpkin, cucumbers and watermelon; it would seem that
these plants have a common chemical compound that appeals to hungry
caterpillars. Fascinating!
Comment by Rory on Saturday, October 20, 2018
This is my first season raising monarchs on milkweed that I grow in very
large pots on our patio here in Bermuda, and I'm addicted. We've been
through at least three generations - hard to be precise as the caterpillars
are at different stages. Right now I have approximately 36, and I am hopeful
that many are only a day or two out from the chrysalis stage. Today they
stripped the plants almost completely bare (two of them even eating a
semi-mature seed pod), and while it's good to know they can survive for days
without eating, the problem is that when they're hungry they roam in search
of food and probably die. I read your blog and went out and bought butternut
squash, shaved off a few slices and took it to my plants. On the way I had
to pick up several caterpillars and restore them to their siblings on the
bare stems. I hung the squash below them all, and in every instance they
began almost immediately to eat. It's night now, and I've checked by
flashlight and it still seems to be holding their interest. I have 40-50
very small milkweed (less than 1" tall) growing from seed but don't want to
unleash the caterpillars on them as they will demolish them all in a couple
of hours. I've devoted man-days to manually eradicating the orange and black
aphids that occur constantly. There are also really tiny black mites that
look like rust under the leaves, and a sort of tiny limpet-like thing that
attaches to the stems and emits an orange-yellow liquid when squashed. I'm
obsessed. I've even given a presentation with photos to my French language
class. Ah, les petites mignons chenilles! For my problem, I need to find an
MBA - a Monarch-Breeders Anonymous - where I can speak freely about my
addiction and where I won't be judged.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Rory, Thanks for sharing your story and experience. I had no idea there
were Monarch butterflies in Bermuda. Very interesting! Thanks again for
commenting, and good luck with all those caterpillars!
Comment by Susan Rhodes on Saturday, January 19, 2019
Hey Monarch Lovers!! All of this information is amazing. I too have run out
of milkweed, and have been feeding my caterpillars butternut squash, and
occasionally organic seedless cucumbers. I think they like the squash the
best. I have about 15 inside eating their squash. I have some huge cats that
I'm sure need to make their chrysalises. I'm not sure if they are all
confused because the weather in Texas stays warmer than elsewhere, and then
boom, its really cold! I don't know if you've had that issue.
I have another problem: I have 2 perfectly healthy monarch butterflies that
I have tried releasing outside for the last week. They don't want to fly off
into the sunset! They are very happy to hang out in their butterfly house,
and not move at all. Yesterday, I fed them hummingbird nectar, and they
liked it. I thought maybe that would perk them up. But , they just hung out
again, and didn't move till this am, when I brought them out of their house.
They haven't moved since I put them on their perch. What do you think is
going on with them? Would love to here from you! Thanks, Susan
Comment by Stacie Hebert on Friday, March 29, 2019
Just chiming to say thanks for you all who put this good information out
there to share. I've grown milkweed for several years after a neighbor gave
me a cutting. It's so fascinating and wonderful to watch! Well, the first
generation hatched and started eating about a week ago & when I went to
check today, I was horrified to see more than half, maybe 60% of the plants
gone and about 40 mostly medium sized caterpillars munching away on a lot of
stems and flowers with an increasing number on the ground and fence. Oh, no!
I put about 15 in my hands and walked them over to an overgrown lot on the
next street I saw had some milkweed -- feeling quite delighted I blew some
seeds in the fluff last year. They crawled all over my fingers (creepy LOL)
but none fell off. Only to get there and find impostor flowers! Luckily ,
I've had a butternut squash sitting around for the past month. When I
speared them on the plant's twig, it took a while but I felt triumphant when
they started chowing down on the orange stuff! Some seemed to like it as a
novelty and some eat it as a last resort without moving onto the last plant.
I really cannot bear the thought of them starving and they were so many! For
reference , I read that > 25mm is the final larval stage and when its OK to
help them finish off before chrysalis stage. Also, a tip is to pull and
freeze leaves when butterflies are not using the plant. And plants in the
ground tend to double themselves with offshoots every year.
Comment by C J on Tuesday, April 09, 2019
We have a little over 100 caterpillars and utilized the butternut squash
only for the giant 5th instars to eat for a few days before they J hooked
because we were running out of milkweed and wanted to save it for the little
guys. We cut off the outer hard covering of the squash and left chunks
wedged in the remnants of our milkweed bushes on the stems and they quickly
devoured it. At that time there was literally no milkweed to be purchased in
the city so this alternative was a blessing. It worked and just wanted to
add my thanks that you took the time to put this information up on the
internet for us. We now have multiple cages full of J hooks and chrysalis
that should be e closing in a few days. Thank you again!
Comment by Veronica Allen on Monday, March 02, 2020
I am so glad I did a search for alternatives food for monarch caterpillars.
I have counted as many as 40 on my plants. I have four large plants and they
have stripped them all. just read your article on the butternut squash. I am
giving it a try now. let you know how it works. I was amazed that we got so
many this early in the year. we are in central Florida. Veronica
Comment by Toria on Monday, April 13, 2020
All of you are WONDERFUL souls! So many of us wanting to keep these beauties
safe & flourishing. This is my 2nd year assisting these beautiful
butterflies. It is so much work & attention to detail, but so worth it to
watch them fly out of their netted houses into the world. I have planted 7
varieties of native milkweed in pots all around my yard (central FL, gulf
side) and will continue planting until it's everywhere! While my plants are
establishing, my limit is 6 eating cats inside at a time. My neighbor has
given me access to the milkweed at her rental house until mine is growing &
flowing. I still worry about running out of her food too. After reading your
words, you have all given me great suggestions & solutions to relax that
worrying! thank you so much!
Comment by Anna Kraxner on Monday, July 06, 2020
I just found two Monarch caterpillars in one of my planters. They had eaten
all of my dill, and were hard at work on my parsley! I had two caterpillars
last year as well, and they also ate my parsley--but both this year and
last, the parsley won't last very long, so I'm going to try the fresh
butternut and see what happens.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Anna, Thanks for your comment. I had no idea that Monarch caterpillars
might eat dill and parsley. That's very interesting.
Comment by Sophia on Wednesday, July 22, 2020
The "Monarch" Caterpillar that is mentioned that eats Dill and Parsley is
not a Monarch! It is an Eastern Black Swallowtail Caterpillar. That
Caterpillar looks in some ways similar to the Monarch Caterpillar, but is
has dots on its side yellowish greenish. The Monarch Caterpillar has ONLY ,
only stripes in yellow, white black green. I had one them this year and last
year and thought it was a Monarch Caterpillar, but it was the Black Eastern
Swallowtail. I have raised them and supported them as I have the Monarch, so
I have learned the difference. By the way the Bl. E. Swallowtail looks in
the beginning stages like a tiny Dinosaur and has a white stripe on its
belly in the middle, the Monarchs Caterpillar look always the same from
birth on the same pattern and it has these antennae's long in the front and
small ones on the butt side.
Reply by Steve (Cranial Borborygmus)
Hi Sophia, Thanks for your comment. It makes a lot more sense that the
"Monarch" caterpillar eating dill and parsley was a case of mistaken
identity. I don't think I've ever seen a eastern black swallowtail
butterfly, but I have seen some kind of swallowtail butterfly here in
California. It is a beautiful (and big) butterfly, and it's caterpillars are
found on anise plants. Anyway, thanks for commenting!
Comment by Sharon Braun on Saturday, July 18, 2020
Very helpful discussion. I too am watching more Monarchs lay eggs on
increasingly bare plants. Incidentally, I have found little cats on my beet
and swiss chard leaves, even when the milkweed still had plenty of leaves. I
took a bunch of chard to my son's house for dinner, and luckily he found a
little stowaway cat before it became part of our dinner. I took the little
guy back home after his adventure and restored him to the milkweed patch.
Comment by Ann on Saturday, July 25, 2020
Thank you SO much for your article regarding what else to feed the ravenous
little monarch caterpillars! I have a bush that housed 19 caterpillars and
was totally consumed within a few days! I carried the babies to my neighbors
who have several milkweed bushes so they could finish eating and growing. I
raise all sorts of plants, vegetables and fruit trees but had no ides where
I could place them if it happened again! Sincerely, Ann Kyes
Comment by Kathleen on Monday, July 27, 2020
Thank you for this. Apparently the butterflies we get in North Carolina are
pretty desperate because they lay eggs on dill, carrot leaves and parsley. I
saw that they were happily eating a couple of days ago and figured it was
worth it to let them eat the leaves and harvest my carrots when they were
finished. I ordered milkweed seeds for next year and a cage to bring them
inside. I checked to see if I could buy milkweed plants. No luck. Yesterday
I actually looked carefully and realized they were on all my parsley plants
ant the leaves were totally gone on a couple. I was afraid they would starve
so I moved all the ones on the naked plants to a patch of carrots they
hadn't found yet. Today the cage will arrive. We will go to the store for
butternut squash. My butternut squash is still pretty green so doubt they
would like it. Hopefully by tonight they will be eating and pooping Orange!
By the way there are over 20 of them. Some are big some tiny. Hope one
butternut is enough!
Comment by Steve Lee on Thursday, January 28, 2021
Thanks for the squash tip!!
Comment by Rachael on Wednesday, March 10, 2021
I'd read this about squash elsewhere and have tried it today with my
12 caterpillars. Your story was exactly the same as mine. I only had one
tiny plant and it got eggs all over it so got decimated in next to no time.
I brought all the cats indoors in a Tupperware box and some large jam jars
and after buying plant after plant to keep them going, I've now moved to
squash and they're loving it. And yep, the poo has turned orange! I'm glad
to hear yours pupated in the box. I'm hoping mine will do the same, either
on the mesh lid or on the chopsticks I've put across the top. I just seem to
have had them all for weeks now and no chrysallises in sight!
- From the Canary Islands.
Comment by Monica on Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Thank you so very much for posting this! I have at least 20 caterpillars who
have eaten every leaf off of 3 milkweed plants and most off of 3 more
smaller ones. They have now moved on to devouring the slices of butternut
squash I have put below the plants.
Here's to more butterflies making it to Santa Barbara this winter from Simi
Valley, CA!
Comment by Phyllis on Sunday, October 17, 2021
I am in a suburb of New Orleans. I released about 30 monarchs two weeks ago
(October 3, 2021), and thought that I was finished for the year. Then, I saw
a monarch on my very straggly milkweed who I later learned laid from 75 to
100 eggs that hatched in just a couple of days. There is no milkweed to be
found here right now, and I have only 7 of the straggly plants in pots. I
have to keep it in pots, because we get aphids that will destroy the plants
overnight. I cannot spray them, because it will hurt the monarchs. When
there are no eggs or cats on them, I can use a force of water to spray the
aphids off into a drain. Someone said to use Dawn in water, but it didn't
work for me. When I find the eggs, I put the pots into cages and bring them
inside.
I have read that the baby cats need milkweed at least for the first two
instars because of the toxins it provides that will keep predators away. So,
that's what I do when I am short of milkweed. I save it for the babies, and
when they are past the 2nd or 3rd instar, I put them on squash, which they
seem to love. They become butterflies and seem perfectly healthy.
This last group will be leaving around the middle of November for Mexico. If
it's too cold for them to fly, I have a friend who travels weekly to
Houston, and he will take them there to shorten the trip :-)
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