Taking care of monarch caterpillars

I get to play mom to two beautiful monarch caterpillars!

Yesterday, I brought in two little growing beauties to ensure they make their way to their butterfly stage. I found them happily chewing on their favorite snack – milkweed, in my front yard. In fact, it’s the only food they will digest. Guess you could call them finicky eaters, right?

If you’ve been following my blog, then you know that several days ago we discovered our first caterpillar, only to lose sight of him shortly after. Of course, my heart was broken because one of their natural predators made a meal of my little guy. Sigh! However, as soon as these two were spotted, I knew they had to go into witness protection. I was leaving nothing to chance.

Their bed is composed of moist paper towels to make sure that their daily milkweed supply doesn’t dry out. And like any baby, they poop a lot, so daily cleaning of their surroundings is required. But not to fear, their dark cylindrical green excretions don’t smell.

Right now, they’re residing in temporary housing, but their new butterfly house (mesh container) is on its way, so they’ll have plenty of space to forage, rest and eventually form their pupae when time comes. I’m nervous and excited about the journey. Stay tuned for details and thanks for following.