Some participants are reporting monarchs earlier along in the process than usual at this time of year. Michele in Erie, Pennsylvania photographed a caterpillar on May 23, writing, “Very early sighting for me. I usually do not get monarch cats until July. It has been an unseasonably warm spring. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.”

Jon in Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania, farther east, wrote on June 1, “This is the earliest I’ve ever seen caterpillars on my milkweed! Normally, I see them in August.”