Life and death

I don't know what happened but upon inspection of the Monarch container today, I found that caterpillar #3 had died.

He looked happy and healthy last night. So I can't explain why he died. Five and four are thriving, though.

And caterpillar #2 has shed his skin and is now a pupa!

Gotta go to Mexico!

We released the monarch butterfly yesterday ( (08-26-10) at a park in Mt. Rainier! We saw other Monarchs flying around so hopefully he will thrive there.

Here's a quick update on the other members of the family:

Caterpillar #2 ate a whole bunch yesterday and subsequently pooped up a storm last night. LOTS and LOTS of poop to clean up this morning! He completed his walkabout and has now found the highest place in the container to prepare for his pupa stage.

Here is caterpillar #3 who, I swear, tripled his size from yesterday (I guess I cannot blame caterpillar #2 for ALL the poop). Look how he drawves caterpillar #4.

Here's a close up of caterpillar #4.

And, here is an egg we just found two days ago. He is ready to hatch -- note the black dot at the top of the egg which means that he should be coming out soon.

Day 12: It's a boy!

I know I've been using "he" when talking about all the caterpillars in this blog. But today, this male Monarch emerged from his chrysalis! He is still pumping the fluid from his abdomen into his wings, so he is still very fragile at this point.

Other good news to share, his brother emerged from his egg, too! Welcome caterpillar #4.

And here is caterpillar #3 who has plumped up overnight.

And caterpillar #2 trying to lay low inside this milkweed leaf.

Looks like we will be off searching for new milkweed today to feed everybody.

Update: Here is the butterfly after two feedings today.

And here are the three caterpillars enjoying a fresh batch of milkweed.

Day 11: Three more days to go

Just wanted to note the color change that the pupa was going through. It's nearly time!

And, look at the difference in size in the two caterpillars. I had to move caterpillar #3 to another leaf because the leaf he decided to eat had the egg Wil and I found last time.

Here's the egg on the underside of the leaf.

Day 8: Road closed

We must really love these monarch caterpillars. Today, Wil and I went looking for that second site where I spotted some milkweed. The road was closed -- Beach Drive -- still affected by the torrential downpour that the DC metro area suffered from yesterday. So, we parked our car across W. Cedar Lane, crossed over to Beach and trudged through mud and debris from yesterday's storm and found the milkweed. We also found a new egg. See the little white dot by the hole on the leaf?

Here is our little instar, caterpillar #3. This is a new leaf that he is on, so he wasn't the one who chewed that big hole.

However, here is caterpillar #2, whose all day chowing results in a really messy container!

Day 7: A new mouth to feed (08-18-10)

Hi finally hatched! Meet caterpillar #3. He's right there in the middle right by the vein of the leaf.

Here's a better view of him -- I took him off the old dry leaf he was on and gave him a fresh one.

And, here is his much, much bigger brother who is so busy eating and making a mess!

Still on pupa watch.

Day 6: Growing by leaps and bounds

Last Saturday, when we took caterpillar #2 home, he was so small that it took forever to find him on the milkweed leaf. Late last night I took a picture of him and he had grown so much in three days!

Today, I took another picture and it seems that he grown even more. Look how much of the leaf he has eaten.

Here he is under some magnification.

And here is the pupa on day four. About six more days to a butterfly.

And here is a picture of the egg. I am a bit worried about it -- that it might not hatch.

Day 5: I Got Milkweed!

At the workshop, the moderators said that soon we, the trainees, would be keeping an eye out for milkweed plants as we went about our daily routines. "Fat chance that!" I thought. But as I drove home last Thursday, stuck in traffic on the George Washington Parkway, my milkweed sensors did go up as I observed the landscape along the side of the road.

I have to confess that I pilfered the milkweed on Saturday (from an undisclosed location) where a little sign advised not taking anything. Sorry! I will never do that again. So, today, on the way home today after grocery shopping, the kids and I drove through Rock Creek Park trying to find a new source of this precious plant. Lo and behold, our efforts were rewarded when we chanced upon this meadow!

Unfortunately, the plants were quite dry and quite infested. It was fun for Ian and Noah to see all the aphids and the ladybugs eating the aphids (I think you can make one out near the stem in the middle of the plant) and the wasps flying around and lots of red ants.

We trudged around the meadow a bit and found a few leaves that would do. Supplies are low at home (last week's harvest is wilting) and our little instar is getting hungrier.

Here's the leaf he was snacking on up till this noon when we finally got home to replace with fresher stock.

Further along our drive, though, we did chance upon another meadow, closer to our house. We'll check out this field later on.

A note of looking for the common milkweed: From the four places that I went looking for milkweed, I realized that finding a clearing with a lot of brush and long grass was a perfect spot to look. The milkweed grows tall and you can recognize the stalks and leaves as you drive by. Last Saturday, I walked around Cabin John Park trying to spot any milkweed plants. No such luck. There were lots of trees, vines, and bushes, but no clearings. In the meadow we found at Rock Creek Park, there was a little sign posted saying that this was a natural meadow -- no mowing in the area. And it was abundant with milkweed.

Day 4: New friends and a new countdown

So here is friend caterpillar enjoying a well-deserved rest after that amazing show he put on yesterday. Well, actually he is now friend pupa because he is no longer a caterpillar. So now we begin a new calendar: counting down ten days (more or less) till he emerges as a butterfly.

To keep him company, we found some new and exciting friends for him. After a nature walk yesterday, we found some milkweed and brought home one leaf with an egg on it (too small for a photo) and another with a first instar (the monarch caterpillar goes through five moltings and each molting is identified as an instar). I know he's kind of hard to see, but he's there in the middle, the right most smudge on the leaf. He's been happily nibbling on this leaf for two days and has made a delicate, lacy pattern from his nibblings.

Day 3: The Pupa Dance (08-14-10)

The caterpillar has entered a new phase! He is in a j formation (self explanatory) and his antennae have gone limp. It's all wait and see from this point on -- he will start his pupa dance and shed himself of this caterpillar body and a pupa will emerge.

Twenty minutes later: It has begun!

Shedding away the past.

A job well done!

Old skin.

Day 2: Friday the 13th (08-13-10)

How can something this small poop so much? I cleaned out the caterpillar's mesh container first thing today and boy was there ever so much poop. I guess if he's eating that much, there has to be somewhere that it all has to go. If I lined up all the poop it would measure to his whole body. Busy, busy caterpillar!

What does Friday the 13th have to do with today's posting? Nothing, except maybe bad luck for me to have to clean up all that poop!

Wow, the walkabout phase has just commenced! The caterpillar is done eating and will be preparing for his next transformation. He has just climbed to the topmost part of his container. Many exciting things are coming!

Day 1: Welcome home! (08-12-10)

I am a bit late posting the daily activities my new monarch caterpillar. He or she has been going through amazing transformations and it is time to chronicle, lest I forget.

Day One began after the Monarch butterfly workshop I attended these last two days.* Laden with books, DVDs, grape wreaths, milkweed rhizomes, milkweed branches, and copious notes on its care and feeding -- nothing mattered but my little plastic container with this caterpillar. Isn't he beautiful?

I couldn't wait to transfer him to the mesh container I had made at the workshop the previous day. But first we had to survive a withering heat wave, driving home in an airconditionless car, and a severe thunderstorm threat. Quite an eventful couple of hours.

We made it home just before the storm broke, survived the heat and traffic, relocated the caterpillar into his new home. The kids were happy to welcome him but one of the cats was not too sure. Maybe I shouldn't have put his container on the kitchen counter, but a few minutes later, a swipe from the cat and he almost fell to the floor. We were able to intervene and save him from the bad cat.

A few minutes later, with a fresh crop of milkweed leaves, and strategically placed on the dining room table, it seemed all was well until we all had to run for cover under a tornado warning. So children, dog, cats, gecko, caterpillar, and adults had to hunker down all together in the basement to wait for the storm to pass. Which it did and thankfully was uneventful.

*Many thanks to the folks at EIRC for conducting the truly wonderful, informative, exciting, and inspiring Monarch Teacher Workshop. Brian Hayes, Jeanette O'Connor, Paul, Cindy, Alison -- your experience and tutelage have made me a true believer in the cause to take care of our environment, and nurture our native plants and trees, and in turn protect and cherish the amazing Monarch butterfly.