Caught in the Act

While enjoying a popsicle on the front porch, the kids and I noticed a dark butterfly in our garden. It looked kind of like a monarch, but it just looked too dark to me, it turned out to be a queen butterfly like the caterpillars I posted pictures of a while back.

She seemed very intent on visiting our yard, even after Caleb chased her off, she flew back and lit on a milkweed plant I grew from a seed and planted in the front garden (the butterfly garden is in the backyard). I got the camera just in time to capture something I had been very curious about! This is how the butterflies put their eggs on the leaves:

I thought it was interesting how she curved her body so much to put the egg on the underneath - I have found a few eggs on top of the leaves, but most of the time they are on the bottom - I just couldn't figure out how they got them there!

We got a little better picture of her on a different plant, well a closer picture anyway:


And the proof is in the pudding - here is the egg!