I have been watching a couple of eggs in the backyard butterfly garden this week and knew they would hatch soon. So I checked on them early this morning and this is what I found:
This one is about to hatch. The dark spot is the head. I have seen them like this before, but didn't realize how close this is to hatching until I found:
This is not the same caterpillar/egg, but obviously one "just born" - they eat the egg before moving on to the leaves. If you click on the picture you can see the lines on the egg and tiny antenna on the caterpillar - four, so this is a monarch.
This one is about to hatch. The dark spot is the head. I have seen them like this before, but didn't realize how close this is to hatching until I found:
This is not the same caterpillar/egg, but obviously one "just born" - they eat the egg before moving on to the leaves. If you click on the picture you can see the lines on the egg and tiny antenna on the caterpillar - four, so this is a monarch.
So cool!
ReplyDeleteNice pictures. I think our butterfly season is official over. :( We've had a couple frosts and our milkweed plants are all brown and crunchy. Of course, the aphids are still alive!
ReplyDeleteI think we must have some butterflies in the area most of the year. I did see a HUGE swallowtail the other day. I have never noticed one before, but it was such an enormous butterfly I can't believe I've never seen one. It was not that far from where we live either.
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