"J" is for "JUST WAIT!"
- Katie L
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
When a monarch caterpillar assumes the J (or backwards J) position, it's preparing to form a chrysalis. Up until this year, I'd never seen monarch caterpillars on my butterfly milkweed — only my common milkweed — although I know butterfly milkweed is also a host plant. So imagine my surprise when I found 11 at once on a group of butterfly milkweed plants! Can you find 4 in the first picture?
Of the original 11, I know the whereabouts of 5. Two are on the plant, still munching. One died, having been attacked by a stinkbug (very sad). One marched across my porch, right in front of my assistant's nose, who took his instructions to "leave it" very seriously. That caterpillar formed a chrysalis under an overhang on my porch. The last one formed a chrysalis on a blade of little bluestem.
The transformation from caterpillar to butterfly happens over about two weeks. The chrysalis changes from bright green to translucent right before the butterfly emerges, and you can literally watch it unfold its wings as it comes out. It's so fascinating to think that once it dries its wings and gets a drink of nectar, it will take off on a journey with millions of other monarchs to the oyamel fir forests in Mexico, where it will spend the winter.
I know they came for the milkweed and not me, but I still feel honored to be their host. Would you like to host some yourself? Just plant milkweed and skip the broad-spectrum insecticides! Local species include:
Asclepias syriaca, Common Milkweed (you'll need a lot of space for this one — beware, it will take over!)
Asclepias incarnata, Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed
Interested in attracting these, and many other, butterflies found in our region? Reach out and ask about a butterfly garden designed specifically for your site — one that supports their lifecycle from egg to caterpillar to butterfly. Watch your garden come to life as it ties your space into the local, living ecosystem.
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