Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: DAILY PICTURES #108, 1 by vitrsna

vitrsna wrote:
Well, well, well...lots of fun activity going on in the butterfly world! Here is a photo of a male Monarch and i thought it was the first one in the garden this season. They usually show up twice. Once in spring for about 4 egg layings and again in autumn for 3 months or so. So, i was surprised to see this fellow in the garden this morning. For a few months now, i've had Queens, Soldiers, but no Monarchs...or so i thought. The Monarch that arrived this morning was really hungry. When i got into the garden, lo and behold! There were two half grown Monarch caterpillars. I can't believe i haven't seen them until now. They also looked like they had missed a meal or two recently (maybe doing a molt). One, i found on the ground and relocated it to an especially delectable spot and now it is the healthy, chubby one in the 2nd photo...still eating. So clearly the Monarch this morning was not the first one of the season, unless these two little cuties parachuted in. Here is one view of the rainy season jungle garden.