As I was walking by my grape vine that's woven into our picket fence, I caught out of the corner of my eye what looked liked a Monarch caterpillar eating the growth tips and tendrils of the grape. But wait, monarchs don't eat anything but milkweed.
According to Caterpillars of Eastern North America, the young instars feed in groups on the underside of leaves, then as they mature they become more solitary. This moth's lifecycle is spent 40 out of the 65 days as a caterpillar. The pupa overwinters in a spun cocoon among the fallen grape leaves.
Minnesota is at the northern edge of its range, which includes the northeast to New Hampshire.
I wonder if that is what has been at my newly planted grapevine...maybe Japanese beetles...
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. I've had people tell me that they've seen monarch caterpillars in their vegetable garden, and I've dismissed those claims because 1. we don't really have monarchs in MT and 2. monarchs only eat milkweed. Maybe this or a similar species is what they are seeing.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for another grape (great) post!
David
Hi Donna,
ReplyDeleteThey haven't done much damage to my grape (yet) but the Japanese Beetles definitely have. I picked many off daily.
Heather
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteI only have books on eastern species but I would guess there's another similar one in the same genus.
Heather