If you look back to Part 6 of my little series, you will see all the caterpillars that used to live on our plant. Since then, the caterpillars disappeared, and hopefully walked away to form their chrysalises. The milkweed plant we had, was eaten right down to the stem, because we had so many caterpillars. But the foliage has grown back, and despite the cooler weather, more eggs have been laid.
At the moment, we have three caterpillars who are alive and well. I'm sorry to say that the cold weather might have frozen the other eggs, because none of them have hatched yet. But we do have three, who have had the plant all to themselves, and have grown very quickly. :)
We put the caterpillars in a little "house" with some milkweed so we could bring them indoors on the cold nights. Two of our caterpillars have already climbed up to the ceiling of their container, where they hang in a "J" shape. After they stay in a "J" position for a while, they molt their skin for the last time, then they start forming a chrysalis around them. It's a very neat thing to watch, so I will try to get pictures and video. :)
So things seemed to work out just right; I can continue my telling of the monarch life cycle, even if it is with a new set of caterpillars. ;) The two of ours are still hanging "J", and the third is happily eating his way to being a butterfly. Lord-willing, I will post some more pictures soon!
abby
{continue to part eight}
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