Look what I found on my Honeyvine Milkweed yesterday afternoon. A skipper, a ladybug and a Monarch butterfly caterpillar!
This is a Silver-spotted Skipper He was pretty flittery, and then when I read about him I found out that is a trait of skippers, which are different from butterflies, which are different from moths.
Wonder why his eyes are so big and black.
Then I saw this little ladybug. Except he was bigger than most little ladybugs.
I haven’t seen very many ladybugs this year.
This one was quite speedy so most of my pix were out of focus.
He has a little moustache on his back. See the little face.
And then my favorite find.
A Monarch butterfly caterpillar! I’m so excited!
I’ve been fascinated by Monarchs since I read this article in National Geographic when scientists found their winter home in Mexico. We see them in late summer here in Oklahoma and I’m so happy to have one continue the migration from my backyard.
I found out a butterfly would have laid an egg on one of these leaves recently and now it’s a caterpillar. I saw one Monarch bouncing about the front yard a couple of weeks ago so that might have been mom.
He should turn into a chrysalis before too long and at that point I think I’ll put him in a jar. When the butterfly emerges it doesn’t take long for them to flex their wings and then fly away so I would likely miss it if I leave him outside. I may miss it anyway, but I’m hoping for some pictures before he leaves.
After reading up on the life cycle I’m hoping there are more eggs under other leaves on the vine. At first they’re too tiny to notice, but now I’m on Monarch watch.
Anyone else out there creating a Monarch habitat to help these guys out? Since Milkweed is the only thing they eat, I’ll have a lot of Honeyvine Milkweed seeds over the next few weeks.
Jan
