u/Crazy_Personality363

Pictured is a young caterpillar, an egg, and 3 aphids apparently waiting by the egg.

Do I need to remove the aphids?

I have a medium sized black ant colony that comes and "farms" the aphids for honey dew. They carry the aphids the the best leaves in order to collect the honey dew they make.

I find insects farming amazing, so I typically leave them alone.

My question is what other threats should I be watching for/removing from my milkweed. I love biodiversity so long as they do not snack on caterpillars.

2 years ago, I raised a monarch indoors after loosing a hatch.

Last year, I had over 20 native milkweed come up behind my garden with zero eggs or caterpillars.

Today I spotted 2 caterpillars and at least 6 eggs! Happy news.

I have a milkweed patch on the backside of my garden, but I witnessed a monarch come down and lay a single egg on a tiny milkweed that sprouted in the yard. (Roommate was going to mow today.)

I attempted to transplant the milkweed but greatly underestimated how deep the tap root was.

I'm keeping it watered and in the shade.

Will the milkweed recover in 3-5 days or should I tape/tie the egged leaf onto a healthy plant or something.