Are these the caterpillars of the monarch butterfly? I see them every year on my parsley plants; they grow humongous and then they vanish. What happens?
KL-Yes, they are monarchs. The ones on parsley plants will turn into a different type of butterly....a beautiful type of swallowtail. They often crawl away from the host plant and make a chrysalis under foliage. David/:-)
CG-yes, these are the last ones. The drought put everything on hold, including the leaves falling! I raked leaves today...in January. David/ :-)
I saw a Monarch in my garden a couple weeks ago hanging on some Lamb's Ear. I think he got left behind. Thanks for visiting my blog. Glad you enjoyed the "busy" poem :-) Hang in there...your garden and blog will be waiting for you when things slow down. I am having a slow time now but come next month, the gardening season kicks off in full gear with pruning.
I'm still finding Monarch caterpillars on my milkweeds, although I didn't check to see how they fared after Monday night's low 30s. I saw a Monarch flitting about today, though, and it sure looked like she stopped to lay eggs. I hope some of them make it!
Love the title! :0 It does seem the caterpillars are a bit late.
ReplyDeletewhat is that tropical milkweed?
ReplyDeleteAre these the caterpillars of the monarch butterfly? I see them every year on my parsley plants; they grow humongous and then they vanish. What happens?
ReplyDeleteGreggo-
ReplyDeleteAsclepius curassavica (Mexican milkweed):-)
KL-Yes, they are monarchs. The ones on parsley plants will turn into a different type of butterly....a beautiful type of swallowtail.
They often crawl away from the host plant and make a chrysalis under foliage. David/:-)
CG-yes, these are the last ones. The drought put everything on hold, including the leaves falling! I raked leaves today...in January.
David/ :-)
I saw a Monarch in my garden a couple weeks ago hanging on some Lamb's Ear. I think he got left behind. Thanks for visiting my blog. Glad you enjoyed the "busy" poem :-) Hang in there...your garden and blog will be waiting for you when things slow down. I am having a slow time now but come next month, the gardening season kicks off in full gear with pruning.
ReplyDeleteAwww babies!
ReplyDeleteThey're so cute!
Better cross your fingers... When I've had late ones, they didn't ever seem to emerge from their chrysalises.
Such a lovey shot. It appears your butterfly garden is certainly attracting the butterflies! Happy New Year to you both.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic photo! My butterfly garden didn't fare too well in the drought. Hopefully, this year will be better!
ReplyDeleteI'm still finding Monarch caterpillars on my milkweeds, although I didn't check to see how they fared after Monday night's low 30s. I saw a Monarch flitting about today, though, and it sure looked like she stopped to lay eggs. I hope some of them make it!
ReplyDeleteOh what a marvellous capture and title!!!
ReplyDelete