Signs of Monarch butterfly caterpillars!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Monarch butterfly caterpillars
Now is the time to find the Monarch butterfly caterpillars! I hope that all of you get a chance to find some of these caterpillars and put them in a jar with holes in the lid and watch them go through metamorphosis. All you need to do is find a caterpillar and then put a few milkweed leaves in the container with the caterpillar for them to eat. If the milkweed dries out put a fresh one in. After a small amount of time- usually within a day or two the caterpillar will climb to the top of the container and build a chrysalis. Then within a 2 week time spand the chrysalis will go from light green to black and orange. The butterfly will emerge from the chrysalis and fly away like we saw at the gardens one day. I hope you each have fun and get to experience this wonder of nature.
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Remember that the Monarch is a "specialist" insect. What does this mean? A specialist insect MUST have a specific plant in order to lay its eggs. This type of plant is called a "nursery plant" for good reason.
ReplyDeleteMonarch butterflies can only lay eggs on plants in the Milkweed family--Asclepias.