Hi all, I’ve brought in a couple monarch cats from the garden. One is totally normal looking, but the other is much paler, with its black stripes hardly visible. In the googling that I’ve done, most people seem concerned with their cats turning mostly black. Seems like it possibly has to do with the cat being in more direct sunlight and so it stays more white and yellow to keep cool. Anybody have more information on this phenomenon? I’m hoping this cat progresses to chrysalis and becomes a butterfly - just not sure if it will look like a normal one or not. More curious if I should be concerned, but again I haven’t found anything that would suggest disease or parasites. Any info would be appreciated!
Mostly white and yellow monarch caterpillar
Caterpillars of many species can exhibit a wide range of color patterns, but those of the monarch butterfly appear to be less prone to show this. That aside, both temperature and sunlight exposure can affect their coloration - see https://butterfly-fun-facts.com/abnormally-colored-monarch-butterfly-caterpillars-not-oe/ and https://academic.oup.com/aesa/article/96/3/211/171026
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