This weekend while I was was walking past my butterfly bush I noticed something peculiarly different sitting amongst the leaves. Looking a little closer look I noticed it was a brilliantly striped caterpillar. I ran to get my camera to take a snapshot of the little guy, then noticed while I was taking a picture that there were at least a dozen of these caterpillars scattered around the plant and on surrounding plants (like my roses)--they were just hiding underneath the leaves, out of sight.
I was curious to find out what sort of caterpillars these were (and if they were of a good or a bad variety for my plant!) so I used that ever-useful research tool Google to find out more about caterpillar identification. I was excited to find out my little caterpillars were going to become monarch butterflies!
Monarch butterflies stay in their caterpillar phase for about two weeks before they build their cocoons to metamorphize into their beautiful butterfly selves. These guys are going to have to hurry if they want to migrate down south before the cold sets in--which is sadly just around the corner. (Image from here)
One of the main reasons I decided to buy the butterfly bush was because the label claimed it would attract butterflies to your garden. There HAVE been oodles of butterflies flitting about the bush all summer long, and now with the influx of caterpillars (the butterflies must have laid their eggs on the plant) I would say that this plant definitely does draw butterflies to the garden in a big way!
I'm going to be keeping an eye on my monarch caterpillars--it's kind of fun in a science-gardeny type of way!
Have a happy Monday
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