A few weeks ago I found about 6 or 7 eggs on various milkweed leaves. I left them all where they
were
and checked them daily. Several days later all had hatched and a few days after that I noticed that
only
two caterpillars seemed to have survived. I really think that some insect on the milkweed must feed
on the
monarch caterpillars. I brought the two survivors inside and they are growing fast.
This morning I found four more eggs and then by this afternoon there were 5 more. I never saw the butterfly,
but she obviously payed us a visit. I will bring each of them inside in a few days.
July 24, 2000
Check back in a few days!!! I plan on having my web cam on when the first two caterpillars make
their chrysalises.
July 25, 2000
I moved the caterpillars out onto the deck and moved my computer so I could keep the cam on them.
One of the caterpillars is a bit
bigger than the other and looks like he'll be making his chrysalis soon....
maybe tomorrow.
July 26, 2000
It looks like the big caterpillar is going to do his thing today. He's been crawling all over the milkweed
plant from top to bottom
as if he's searching. I remember this from past years; they are looking for
the perfect spot to make their chrysalis. We're still many hours away from the event, but
I'll have the camera ready...
... 3:10 pm - hmm, the large caterpillar is missing! He has either wandered off the plant and is somewhere
on my deck, or a bird came down and nabbed him.
Kendall says, "Duh, Dad, you're attracting
both birds and butterflies to your yard, what do you expect?" Smart-aleck! I'll keep looking.
Meanwhile, I've brought the other caterpillar inside.
July 27, 2000
The remaining caterpillar spent the day looking for a spot on the milkweed plant to make his chrysalis.
Around 6:00 pm we noticed that he had make the little silk bump on the leaf that he will hang
from
when he makes the chrysalis. So, watch the camera picture on this page, because it should
happen tonight before dark.!
...10:45pm... as usual, I'm way off on my prediction. It is well past dark and this thing
is still hanging
there. The kids have given up and gone to bed. Not sure if I'll wait up or not.
July 28, 2000
FINALLY!!! We were all surprised to see the caterpillar still hanging there this morning. I guess he
was waiting for an audience. At 9:00am he made the change and all three kids got to watch.
Check back in 12-14 days and I'll have the camera on as he comes out as a butterfly!
August 13, 2000
We just got back from 9 days in the upper peninsula. It was a great trip and we were surprised to see
dozens and dozens of Monarchs everywhere we went! Especially on Mackinac Island & Drummond
Island -
they were all over the place. We found lots of eggs and caterpillars and brought back some
of each.
As for our caterpillars back home: the first caterpillar to make his chrysalis came out as a
butterfly Friday under the watchful eye of our neighbor. Several caterpillars escaped from the milkweed
plants I left them on and are now
somewhere in our house. I found one chrysalis hanging from a spray
bottle and I have yet to find the others.
September 13, 2000
The caterpillars and butterflies are long gone now. The last week of August we had 4 chrysalises in the
house. Darlene and I went out of town to a wedding and when we came back all 4 had already
flown away. At
least the kids and their grandparents got to watch. So, in all we raised about 14
caterpillars this summer and I didn't see ANY of them emerge! Maybe next year.