Throughout our 2024 Monarch Blitz adventure, while we eventually spotted 8 Monarch Butterflies, we found no eggs, caterpillars, or frass. Similarly, we have found no eggs, caterpillars, or frass this summer on any of the Milkweeds (i.e., common, swamp, and tuberosa) that grow in the gardens around our house. That is, until today. Two days late for the Party Blitz, while we still have not found any eggs on any of our milkweeds, we spotted two caterpillars on a pair of common milkweeds in our front garden. One is very recently hatched. The other (now accompanied by dozens of aphids) has clearly been around for a while, though it managed to stay unobserved until today. Hopefully each will make it to adulthood.

Our weather at the time (about 12:45 PM) had an air temperature of 82°F, a dew point of 70°F, 66% humidity, air pressure at 28.63 inches and dropping slowly, with a light 6 mph breeze coming from the ENE under mostly cloudy skies. (The photo of the little caterpillar was taken later in the day – about 5:10 PM – during a brief rain shower. The “blur” on its left shoulder in the photo is from a raindrop.)

                                  -  Tim