Switching rather different milkweed types

[psi_chemie]

I work near a field that has lots of sand vine coming up. There's a whole lot of egg laying going on on this weed. I never tried taking home larvae before, but yesterday I picked 3 peices of sand vine that each had a tiny (1st instar?) larva on them, as well as unhatched eggs.

I guess maybe the plants grow as fast as the larvae do. Otherwise it looks like there will not be enough plant. Anyways, these larvae are already growing exponentially and I am thinking of switching to big, broad, thick milkweed leaves, since it seems like it would be easier to gather enough plant that way.

The sand vine leaves are light and tender. Will the larvae transition to tougher leaves OK?

The female adults in this field ignore the few regular milkweeds. Maybe they can tell those are bug infested. The sand vine is much, much healthier.

[Pat]

I switch species all the time; the cats don't mind. Even the old tough common milkweed leaves have their share of eggs laid on them, and the little caterpillars seem to munch right through them anyway.

[Teresa]

I was worried about that too but soon found I had nothing to worry about They'll eat it all. hehehe