When I took a peak into the butterfly house this morning, one of the monarch caterpillars had already begun its chrysalis. This never gets old! I absolutely love the “dance” at the end. I did not have my camera handy, just the phone this time, but another capture of the magnificent transformation, nonetheless.
I am happy to say, as of today, we have successfully raised and released more than 300 (303) monarch butterflies. It has been an interesting journey learning about this species up close and personal. It’s truly amazing what obstacles they are faced with as soon as an egg is laid.
The female monarch butterflies have been busy laying eggs in the garden, as my giant milkweed, which I have been growing for more than two years, is now all stems. Once taller than me, is now trimmed back encouraging new growth again. It’s truly amazing now much eating a monarch caterpillar can do.
With my milkweed pretty much non existent at the moment, my good friend took some caterpillars to her garden, so they can finish eating.
Every time my daughter and I go out into the gardens we spot a new chrysalis, some in very hidden places, while others in odd places. It’s fun to see how far they travel and what they use to create their silk mat on outdoors.
A monarch caterpillar molting its old skin on a milkweed stem. This happens, so it can enter into the next instar. This process occurs four times before reaching its desired length of 2″.
There are about a dozen monarch caterpillars taking up residence in our butterfly house. They are all pretty close to being done eating.
To learn more about the stunning monarch, visit: https://bit.ly/3g2XGca.
We currently have three monarch caterpillars in our butterfly house, with one finishing up the molting process.
Did you know that a caterpillar will grow its new skin before shedding the old? When it molts, or sheds its skin, the larger skin is then exposed allowing the caterpillsr to enter the next instar and continue eating.
