The Monarch Caterpillars are Here

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I have overlooked my garden for many weeks. This afternoon, I did some gardening. In the late spring last year, I renewed the interest to save as many Monarch butterflies as possible by planting some Milkweed plants from seeds. By the time the seeds germinated, it was autumn, and the planted didn’t grow too much without the sun.

Early spring this year a few plants came back. I thought the rest of them died. Just when I wanted to plant something else in the same spots, the plants showed signs of growth. Two of them are about eight inches tall, and the rest of them are from two to six inches tall.

There is a monarch butterfly flying around and occasionally I saw it resting on the milkweed plants. I was happy that the monarch recognized the plants but expected to see some caterpillars in the summer when the plants get taller.

I planted the Showy milkweed and the Narrowleaf milkweed last year. When the plants grew back this year, they all have narrow leaves. In the middle of the flower bed, there is a plant with broad leaves. I don’t remember planting anything with broad leaves. This afternoon I wanted to transplant the yellow Lantanas that the butterflies like, close to the milkweed. I dug up this broad leaf plant and transplanted it into another spot. As I pressed to the soil around the plant, I spotted two caterpillars.

Oh, no, this is a Showy milkweed with broad leaves. I planted many but only this one grew. I quickly moved the plant back to the original position, but it went through a shock and the leaves were drooping. The caterpillars are doing fine.

I proceeded to check on seven or eight plants, and six of them have tiny caterpillars on them! Oh wow! That’s incredible! There are about a dozen caterpillars.

I couldn’t contain my excitement. I have been waiting for this moment for an entire year. But wait a minute, how can these little guys survive? The plants won’t sustain them through the second or third week and they will die.

The following images 1 to 4 are Narrow Leaf milkweed, and image 5 is the only Showy milkweed.

I quickly did my research, found a “Save the Monarch” website, and asked them how to raise the monarch. After further research, I came across some alternative food for the monarch because of the shortage of milkweed. One common food used to feed the caterpillar is butternut squash. But vegetable doesn’t have the nutrients of the milkweed. I will do some more research this evening on alternative food.

Monarch Caterpillars Butternut Squash – Butterfly Fun Facts

My fun journey of raising the monarch butterflies has just begun!

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