Tag Archives: monarch caterpillar

A new lifecycle

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I have recently planted an abundance of milkweed for the monarch butterflies.

I now have two giant milkweed that stand at least 7 feet tall, four butterfly milkweed plants, two whorled milkweed plants and two balloon milkweed plants. It was important to me to offer a variety, kind of as an experiment to see which one they prefer to lay their eggs.

The monarch caterpillars feed solely on milkweed leaves, which produces glycoside toxins, according to the National Wildlife Federation, which deters other animals from eating the caterpillars. The toxins are stored making them taste bad and remains after they emerge into a butterfly, continuing to protect them.

The last fewdays I have noticed holes in my giant milkweed leaves, signaling that the baby monarch caterpillars have arrived!

Sure enough, I spotted quite a few strolling along on the leaves.

There are four stages in the life cycle of a monarch butterfly: the egg, the larvae (caterpillar) the pupa (chrysalis) and the butterfly.

A little stroll

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When walking the garden, I am constantly looking up, down and around in search for the incredible lifecycle. Today it was a little monarch caterpillar taking a stroll around the water fountain.

Welcome

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I walk my garden daily, more times than not, multiple times a day.

When you plant a butterfly garden your eyes become trained on what to look for – eggs, caterpillars, chrysalis, butterflies – all the stages of life.

Lately I have found a few newly emerged monarch butterflies in the garden, a great surprise, as I never saw the chrysalis. The last few have been on the underside of the giant  milkweed leaves, the monarchs host plant.

Today, I spotted this beauty still drying its leaves.

Another lifecycle has begun. I have begun to spot many monarch caterpillars again. The clues they give make it easy to spot them, such as their frass left on leaves. The size of the frass also lets you know how big the caterpillar may be.

A little battered

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The last few days the same female monarch butterfly has been visiting the garden. You ask, how can I be sure? Well, this beauty has seen better days and has very distinct torn wings.

She is truly incredibly to watch flutter about. A few times she flew by extremely close, almost as if she was saying hello.

Every time I see her she is stopping by one of the five potted zinnia plants, going from flower to flower. Once she has enough nectar she will fly to the giant milkweed, sometimes laying eggs, other times just resting. The photo below shows her resting next to a monarch caterpillar who was busy eating.

A monarch kind of day

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Honestly, what’s better than taking a stroll through the garden and seeing the lifecycle of a butterfly unfold right before your eyes?

There was a monarch butterfly stopping on the giant milkweed, and then scattered throughout were caterpillars having a feast on the leaves.