We have planted a lot of Milkweed in our pollinator
gardens.
I saw a Monarch landing here and there on the milkweed and
found a lot of eggs.
It wasn’t long before little baby caterpillars started
hatching.
Pretty much all they do is eat and poop - a lot. It wasn’t long before we had caterpillars
everywhere!
Healthy caterpillars
Lots of milkweed for them to eat.
They are eating the milkweed pretty fast!
One plant completely eaten.
We’re going to need more plants!
No leaves are missed.
The last plant in this garden bed.
Our caterpillars are big and healthy.
Mark found our first chrysalis.
It's inside this cedar tree.
Even the staff came out to take a look.
We started find chrysalis’ everywhere.
The 10 days of the chrysalis phase is a time of rapid
change. The old body parts of the
caterpillar are undergoing a remarkable transformation, called metamorphosis.
Wing showing
Turning dark
Almost time to emerge.
We have a beautiful Monarch butterfly!
They aren’t all Monarchs - we also have beautiful Painted
Ladies.
We have been very successful raising these beautiful
creatures.
You two are great parents and good providers for your winged offspring.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lot of fun. We checked on our little friends constantly throughout the day.
ReplyDeleteThat is really neat to watch them transform. Great documentation.
ReplyDeleteMakes me wish I still had kindergartners to show them too!
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