Location : Southern Maryland / Eastern Mixed Forests or Southeastern Plains depending which eco region map you look at.
My current count is 6 monarch caterpillars. They are getting big fast! One day I counted 7, but I think a bird got to one of them.
They eat so fast, but aren’t eating as much of the plants as I thought they would. Seems like there is plenty of milkweed for everyone.
It’s been one week since I saw my first one.
Will they form their chrysalis on the plant, or will they go somewhere else? I hope I get to see the butterflies before the go away!
Also, their poops look like nice little fertilizer pellets. I bet it’s good for the plant to help it recover from being eaten!
by nicdapic
2 Comments
They’ll go somewhere else when they’re ready. Mine always travel across the garden to hide in the hydrangeas.
One thing I’ve learned is that birds absolutely watch me checking on all the caterpillars in the garden, and know where to look for them as soon as I walk away. So try not to check too often or too obviously if you can lol. It’s very hard tho.
So happy to see this. Thank you for hosting these endangered beauties.