Date: 02/11/1999

Number: 1

Well, now we know what that Monarch was doing in my backyard. Today I found a whole "crop" of catterpillars on the milkweed seedlings that I have been nursing along all winter. The 13 little fellows had just about eaten every leaf. I rescued them just in time and took them to my classroom in Metairie, Louisiana where we transferred them to plants we have established there. Some of the students opted to take home a catterpillar on a preplanted milkweed plant for safekeeping over the long Mardi Gras holiday. I have several in my kitchen at this very moment. It never ceases to amaze my how fast they grow and how quickly they can decimate and entire plant. But, we are once more captivated by the critters, and more and more people at my school want to take home plants for their own yards. I don't think we will ever have to purchase either milkweed seeds, or plants, or even catterpillars again. Have a happy spring.

New Orleans, LA

Latitude: 30 Longitude: -90.1

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