I check them each day hoping to find a chrysalis.
But they are getting bigger. Since I’ve never seen them before I don’t know how big they get.
They don’t look very tasty…guess that is their protection.
This is the biggest one. It’s got all kinds of weird bumps on it.
This one is almost as big. You can see what I mean….
They almost look fuzzy in places…
This one looks fairly young….maybe that is the egg case behind it. There are several tiny ones like this on the plant.
It looked like the Viceroy was laying eggs on it this afternoon. I know not all will survive…guess they do have predators….
I have 14 chrysalis in my butterfly house. Queens….released 1 male butterfly yesterday and 2 females today…so they should be laying shortly.
Lots of Swallowtails come through so I am going to plant some parsley for them.
Love my caterpillars….Honey Bees….Raccoons…..well…you get the idea.
Boy, those viceroy caterpillars certainly know how to present themselves in an unappetizing light! And the bumps on their skins look for all the world like undigested seeds in a bird dropping. Clever!
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