I found where the monarch's are going through their chrysalis stage, see previous post. I decided to do a closer inspection of my milkweed bushes and am stunned by the number of caterpillars. There must be 30 to 50. My questions are: 1) What are these bugs, do I need to get rid of them, if yes, how do I do that safely without harming the caterpillars? 2) Are these caterpillar eggs? They are EVERYWHERE!
Shape and color are off for a monarch egg. But it’s something!
Video credited to @malbafont_macrophotography on IG.
As you know, my grandmother's milkweed had two batches of monarch caterpillars. The first batch I had 6 but only 4 made it and on my last batch I had 4 caterpillars but only 1 made it. The 5 caterpillars that I never knew what happened to them may have gone into the grass and vegetation that is next to the milkweed were they may have become way to camoflauge were they are impossible to spot or got eaten by ants and other predators that live in the vegetation.
Is there a way to prevent the caterpillars from going into the grass and vegetion during their wandering phase without using a mesh netting or harming other creatures living in the vegetation? I am planning to get rid of the grass and weeds but I am waiting till the weather gets cooler since it is hot right now and there are no caterpillars nor eggs on the milkweed at this moment. But any advice on preventing the next batch from going into that area is much appreciated.
Does anyone think this caterpillar has black death? I had a crysalis turn black l, so I'm concerned. This one seems to be acting normal; shed his skin last night. I've never seen one suspiciously dark, but I've heard people say it's just a variation. I have a 5th instar a few feet away that looks normal.
I have 7 butterfly milkweed plants outside my office window. I see so many butterflies and caterpillars, however I never see any chrysalises/chrysalides. My office window is a bay window and I was looking underneath it for something completely unrelated and I FOUND THEM!! Can anyone recommend a high quality camera that I can place under there with them to capture some great videos to share?
Felt really good today, we had 6 Monarchs at one time in our 1 year old Butterfly Garden in Michigan. Managed to capture this cool picture with 4 on one plant. When we purchased the house the garden was ornamental grass and hostas. So this has been an awesome change!
These guys are so cute and adorable and SO tiny!
But, are they friend or foe?
Got my first caterpillar on my common milkweed! I had given up since the flowers stopped blooming weeks ago.
I am so excited!
These doofy dudes with their antennae make the dog days of summer more bearable 🐛
Milkweed tussock of some sort?
I hadn't seen any activity - a few adult monarchs, but i didn't see any eggs. Today I found 6 or 7 cats! Louisville, KY. Enjoy this little dude chomping some flowers.
It's Photo Friday!
With the spring migration and breeding season in full swing what have you been seeing in your garden? Share the good, bad and the ugly!
All nature photos are welcome, whether it’s a pollinator moment or just something that made you stop and look twice.
Reminder: We are a science-based sub. While we welcome all monarch enthusiasts, we do not support discussions about hand-rearing monarchs. However, if you’re new and have questions because you’ve raised monarchs in the past, we have many former rearers here happy to guide you toward more sustainable practices. Let’s work together to protect monarchs where they belong—in the wild!
Stay curious and keep sharing the love for these beautiful butterflies! 🧡🖤🧡
SW Michigan
ive been keeping a close eye on this little dude for the past several days!! looks to be i4 ish? ive never seen any that made it past i3 so this is amazing!
his poops are HUGE and hes pretty quickly wearing down this little plant... but he is pretty sheltered in this spot so im hesitant to move him myself in case he will eventually wander off on his own and find a better spot than where i would put him. theres two other common milkweeds of similar size a couple feet away and one giant stalk but that ones covered in ants lol.