Monday, June 30, 2008


I thought I would have to wait till the end of July or August to have a Monarch butterfly make a visit to my milkweed but to my surprise there were 3 eggs on my plant by June 9th! Within 5 days they hatched one at a time from around 12:00 PM till 6:00 PM. I wish that I had my own pictures of the eggs and little babies but my camera only photograghed blurry because they were so tiny.
I wonder if they always hatch in the afternoon?

Planting of a Milkweed


I LOVE CATERPILLARS AND BUTTERFLIES!! When I taught second grade my grade level would raise Monarch caterpillars and watch their amazing metamorphosis into butterflies. Out we would go into a field of milkweed and search for the tiny egg. It was a treasure hunt for me! Butterflies mostly lay their eggs on the underside of the top leaves of a milkweed stalk. Spotting milkweed along the roads we traveled became my sport. I would make my husband stop so I could check them out for caterpillar eggs. He humored me.

Last Fall 2007 I dug up a milkweed plant in a field and planted it in my flower garden. I wanted to experience their life cycle up close and personal. This spring up came the milkweed strong and tall. It measures 134 centimeters tall.
I wonder how many inches would equal 134 centimeters?