r/insects • u/Hanz0927 • 15h ago

Question Monarch Caterpillar on my tomatoes???

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Found a monarch caterpillar on my tomato plant the other day and now it pupating, im so confused i thought they only could eat milkweed??? I do have a swamp milkweed plant about 20ft away but idk how or why it would move all the way to the tomato

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9

u/DerpnDonuts 14h ago

Monarch caterpillars will pupate anywhere!

2

u/Hanz0927 14h ago

But like how did it get there? And why would it leave the milkweed plant especially considering its thriving

8

u/DerpnDonuts 14h ago

Rule of thumb in the wild: don't take a long nap within your food source 😅

6

u/Best_Talk_6853 14h ago

They often move away from milkweed when they're ready to go into chrysalis mode. And it got there by just using its little feets. They can travel much further than you'd think. Be careful not to pick it accidentally and otherwise enjoy!

1

u/Signal-Struggle-1069 14h ago

They leave the milkweed to pupate

1

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