Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: I have a butterfly question, 1 by Harmonyplace

Harmonyplace wrote:
This was my first year planting milk weed and it was recommended by a friend to attract butterflys i didn't know until i was here on this forum last night that they laid eggs on it and the catapillars ate it. My husband and i were out in the yard a while back and saw a monarch these are rare to my yard and we stand and stare when one actually comes here. It flew directly to the milk weed and i said guess its hungry and needs some fuel for its long trip. But today i was down at my little garden and all my milk was completely eaten up only the bare stalks left. I went looking for what had eaten it and found 3 of the same catapillars i saw here that were monarchs but sadly they were dead just hanging limp.
My question is could some have escaped and are chrysalis somewhere or did they all perish?
What killed them and can i prevent this from happening again?
How much milk weed do i need i have about 10 plants?
Will it survive the winters here in Georgia?