Ending the Larva Stage

The first caterpillar has crawled up to the top of the 'castle' and has attached itself there. It will form a 'j' and within the day will shed its last 'skin' and transform to a pupa called a chrysalis.

It's all curled up here because I jiggled the castle while cleaning it out. It will relax into the 'j' formation once things calm down. Note how long the antennae are. There are little 'fake' antennae on its rear end.

Meanwhile, on the other jar, this one is fattening right up. I believe it will pupate in a day or two.

I have no idea when this one hatched but it is doing well.

Tonight, when I was checking on things, #1 had pupated and I discovered a 4th larva! I have no idea where it came from. It's about the same size as #3 just above. Tomorrow I will go out again and try to find some more eggs or larvae. To find larve, I just look for any milkweed leaves that have holes in them. This indicates that they're feeding on them. Otherwise, I just look under the leaves for any eggs. I really haven't seen any monarchs yet. Hopefully they're only delayed as has been the case with everything else this year because of the cold, rainy weather in May.