Caterpillar competition


Curious about interactions between monarch caterpillars and tussock moth caterpillars (the latter shown here chewing to the end of a leaf). Both feed voraciously on the same food plant (milkweeds). On the plants I watch the monarchs were about 3 weeks ahead (August 9 vs August 27), so the two species were not present at the same time. Thoughts about interspecies competition for food plants?

Interesting thought @GilesR !. This reminded me of an article from Jeremy Sell many years ago!

Plant-Insect Interaction: Milkweed tussock moth larvae feeding on a common milkweed | The Life of Your Time (wordpress.com)