Question about Larvae

[Carol61]

We're from Western New York and am new to raising monarchs, as you will realize if you read further --- I spotted a monarch a few days ago fluttering through the garden, so have been checking the milkweeds for any sign of eggs. Today, I noticed one of the leaves on my common milkweed was lacy with holes and when checking the underside, it was full of tiny -- maybe 1/16" -- caterpillars that I'm assuming are monarchs. But I was surprised at the number -- 100-200! Is that possible? The area on the leaf that they appear to have come from is a white spot about the size of a dime. My husband built a nice cage that I've covered the plant with to protect the little ones, but now I'm wondering if they're even monarch larvae -- I could be raising Japanese Beetles for all I know ... guess only time will tell.

[Mona Miller]

Probably the larvae of the milkweed tussock moth. Kindly throw them into a field that has milkweed or dunk them into a container of soap water. They will devour your milkweed.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/206741/bgimage
Click images and you'll see how they get more furry and orange, white, and black.

[Carol61]

Thank you so much for your speedy reply! I'll take your advice!

[Carol61]

Update: When disposing of the tussock moth larvae I was amazed to find a 1/2" monarch caterpillar on an adjacent common milkweed plant!! The real deal! So I carefully went through each of my milkweeds with my magnifying glass and found one more 1/2" little one on my swamp milkweed! So I'm in business! Thank you for your help!