Do Toads eat monarch caterpillars?
Posted by Cynthia Koets on September 8, 2006
Q: I have been watching a monarch caterpillar eating milkweed plants in my garden for a couple of days. Today I can't find him (hopefully, he's in his chrysalis), but near where he ate sits a large toad. This toad also lives in our garden. Do toads eat Monarch caterpillars?
State: Florida
A: Good question and one I can't answer. Toads eat a wide variety of animals and it seems almost anything is "fair game" to them. If your toad tried eating a Monarch caterpillar (bitter tasting) once, I think it would have spat it out, however, and not bothered them again but I can't be sure. My guess is that your first assumption (that it is now in the chrysalis stage) is correct. Carefully check around your Milkweed plants and see if your caterpillar isn't hanging from one of the undersides of a leaf.
John Wiessinger ( September 11, 2006)