Re: "Orange aphids"
- To:
- Subject: Re: "Orange aphids"
- From: J* C*
- Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1999 20:03:45 -0500
Pat
The orange aphid like eggs on your asclepias I think are eggs of the
order of Lepidoptera. There are four stages: the ovum, (egg) larva (worm or
caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis) and imago (adult butterfly or moth. The larva
is the only stage in which growth occurs. Ova, pupae and adults do not grow.
Little butterflies do not grow into big butterflies. Females lay their eggs
sometimes single and sometimes in groups, on or near the plant that they
will use for food. It is not unusual for butterflies and moths to lay
several hundred eggs. In most cases, the eggs hatch within a few days of
being laid. However, some overwinter in this stage.
this taken in part, from " Butterflies and Moths of Missouri". by J. Richard
and Joan E. Heitzman.
One year when I saw these orange eggs, I, too, thought they were aphids
and sprayed them. Only to find out later what they truly were. My asclepias
sometimes is almost entirely eaten by the larvae of the swallowtail but it
manages to come back and bloom about the same time the swallowtails hatch
and hover over it. It is truly beautiful.
Jean
zone 6, southern Missouri
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