I've checked my swan plant mournfully all season. Not a single Monarch caterpillar to be found. Mind you, I hadn't seen any butterflies around either and we are not exactly in suburbia where flower gardens abound. But then I found a paper wasp nest (they eat caterpillars for lunch) in the swan plant. I disposed of it a few weeks ago and now I can't believe my eyes. The plant is covered in black, yellow and white striped munchers. And some of them are big!
The plant is pretty big and seems to still have plenty of leaves so I'm just going to let them go for it and hopefully some of them will make it through to butterfly stage. Go little caterpillars!!
Brilliant!! My outside ones are full now as well. Someone told me that the wasps are no longer feeding their young and that's why the caterpillars are being left alone - no idea if it's right!! I had 2 hatch today one is perfect but one is terribly deformed - it has holed in it's wings :(
ReplyDeleteOh I have 2 roosters for you if you want???
Aren't they magical!Lucky you.
ReplyDeleteOh that is just fabulous. I have lovely memories of monarch caterpillar spotting when I was a child. I must go and find some and let my children experience it too. Good luck little caterpillars!
ReplyDeleteali
Wow, so many - that's exciting!
ReplyDeleteThey look gorgeous as caterpillars too :D)
I found some caterpillars recently too! Thought it wasn't going to happen. I had to bring the chrysalis' inside to develop last year as the wasp were killing them. It was really interesting watching them 'hatch' like being back at primary school!
ReplyDelete