After taking note of them flitting about the Habitat for some time now, my wife finally captured one of these magnificent travelers as it visited our seed-grown marsh milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). After looking at many images of her, it was all too obvious that this one had seen her share of the world. She had very worn wings that were drab and torn in places.
Nonetheless, we enjoyed watching her glide around our yard for several hours, always coming back to the milkweed. I mentioned to my wife that we would have to ask our son to be on the lookout for eggs and/or caterpillars.
Later that evening, I noticed that a few of the younger plants displayed signs of predation on the leaves - and sure enough:
that is a monarch caterpillar, looking to be in it's second of five instars (an instar measures the growth rate of the caterpillar).
If you enjoy these magnificent insects then you should not only provide suitable nectar resources for the adults, but Asclepias plants for the young. You may find that the adult will feed on your Buddleia, but you won't find her laying her eggs on it.
Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) lay their eggs exclusively on Asclepias plants and none other. The young eat the plant (but not thoroughly enough to kill it) and ingest the poisons found in the plant tissues. These are then transferred to the adult, making it completely inedible.
In all, we noticed three of the little buggers, and look forward to watching them grow and hopefully develop into adults in the coming weeks.
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