moving out

i got all the babies moved out of the 'nursery' and outside into their 'castle'.

they all seem to be adjusting well... although it is a little harder to keep track of them now. the smaller ones like to hide out under and in between leaves.

i got a picture of this guy right after he molted. you can see his old skin behind him.

day four

today is day four for these little guys.

they are now in their 2nd instar. they are still so tiny. about 1/4" long. their tentacles have grown... and their bright yellow, black and white stripes are visible.

i am caring for 10 babies right now - and they are definitely becoming way more active and curious.

i will keep them inside for a few more days before i transfer them outside to live in their 'caterpillar castle'.

they will be caterpillars for about 14 days.

creeper

well... look who i found creeping around my backyard this morning  :)

as a caterpillar grows, it molts it's skin 5 times before it becomes a chrysalis. each stage of growth is called an 'instar' -  1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th instar.

this guy seems to already be in his 5th instar - he must be pretty stealth to go unnoticed for so long.

day two

 ... eating and pooping. i can already see the stripes.

the two horns on the top of his head, and near his end, are the beginning growth of the tentacles.

just born

the eggs are ready to hatch. when she first lays them, they are pale yellow. in about 4 days, they get a small black dot on the top of them - this is the caterpillars head. the little caterpillar will eat a hole through its egg shell and crawl out.

when they are born, they are less than 1/8" long. their first meal will be their egg shell.

you can see the how small they are when born in this picture

egg hunt

i found six eggs yesterday. they are so small - and she hides them really well !

i cut off the leaf the egg is on and place it on a moist paper towel. this is to avoid potential predators, such as ants, wasps or spiders, from eating the eggs.

in about 4-5 days they will hatch.

today, there were two more females out there laying eggs.

in the meantime... i'll go out in the garden and look for more eggs.

future babies

all was quiet for a month. i saw a few monarchs passing through. but today this lady fluttered around for about an hour. i sat quietly and watched her as she drank nectar and went from leaf to leaf laying eggs. it was the first time i got to see this happening. first, i identified her as a female. then i could see her land on a leaf, and tuck her abdomen on the underside of the leaf as she deposited her eggs. she will deposit about one hundred eggs.

monarch butterflies use a combination of visual and chemical cues to find milkweed. once they land on a plant, they use sensory organs on their feet and heads to tell them if it is a milkweed, and the quality of the milkweed. she must have liked my milkweed.

i will now go out and go on a monarch egg hunt  :)