Milkweed eater
This Salt marsh moth caterpillar (Estigmene acrea) seemed happy to eat the swamp milkweed leaf in peace. I wish I had seen a Salt marsh moth, they are quite worth the image search. I had not seen one before but they are evidently quite wide-spread across North America. You can see an aphid on the leaf's bottom and the residue of more on the stalk. There seemed to be as many aphid colonies as there were volunteer milkweed plants this spring. We didn't see as many butterflies but the garden's offering was in place.
Milkweed eater
This Salt marsh moth caterpillar (Estigmene acrea) seemed happy to eat the swamp milkweed leaf in peace. I wish I had seen a Salt marsh moth, they are quite worth the image search. I had not seen one before but they are evidently quite wide-spread across North America. You can see an aphid on the leaf's bottom and the residue of more on the stalk. There seemed to be as many aphid colonies as there were volunteer milkweed plants this spring. We didn't see as many butterflies but the garden's offering was in place.