Disquised as yarn...

This tiny creature is a Tussock Milkweed Moth (or Milkweed Tiger Moth) caterpillar and he and his ilk are busy munching up one of my larger patches of milkweed.  There started out being 50 or more and now I can only find about a half-dozen, so clearly their diet of toxic milkweed "milk" isn't enough to keep them safe.  This one is about 1/2 inch (1 cm) long but he will grow to about an inch before he pupates.  He will overwinter in that form, emerging in the spring as a moth.  As with most hairy moths, a certain amount of caution is advised handling them as the hair can cause an allergic reaction in some people.  

I discovered that one of the naughty sycamore assassin bug nymphs drained the life out of one of the little monarch caterpillars today - I came across him just as the deed was done and while he was stalking a second cat.  I quickly detached the leaf that the cat was on and took it to safety.  That resulted in a trip to Lowes, Home Depot and Walmart where I gathered the supplies to make a butterfly "cage" where I am now raising 3 monarch cats... Don't tell hubs.  Maybe he won't notice the 18 inch netted contraption on the deck...

Once the cats are larger, I may move them back out onto some of the plants - I'll see how long it takes and how I am feeling about being a caterpillar mom.  They will quickly become too big for the assassin bugs to bother with.  

The four-legged cats (Phoebe and Charlie) are getting along well today although Charlie is extremely clingy and as I type this he is on my shoulder rubbing my face and purring like an outboard motor.  Phoebe is asleep in her bed on the filing cabinet about 4 feet away, ignoring the whole thing.  

Posted tfour other shots on Flickr, starting HERE with a hummer

Thank you for your response to my hoverfly yesterday - that was totally unexpected!  Just to be clear, I took it before my eyes were dilated - no way I would have been able to focus at all for several hours after!  As it was, it's a miracle I didn't dice up my fingers instead of the onions last night...

Thanks to Osuzannafor hosting TinyTuesday this month!