Big monarch caterpillars don’t avoid toxic milkweed goo. They binge on it
The plant sap is a sticky deathtrap for young larvae. Older lab larvae guzzle it from pipettes
About to binge-drink from a milkweed plant, a nearly grown monarch butterfly caterpillar positions itself to bite into a leaf stalk and lap up the toxin-rich plant fluid that will bleed out.
Anja Betz