Yesterday, while toodling about in the garden, planting the rest of the new additions that my mother brought me from North Carolina (azalea, gooseneck loosestrife, ageratum, and two kinds of iris) I found these two intriguing caterpillars. Both of them were sitting on stems of rue. I'd heard plenty of hedge-witchery about rue, but never that it was the home of choice for caterpillars.
After consulting Bear's field manual, we found out that the above yellow and black one will metamorphose into a Queen Monarch butterfly. The much smaller one, below, I'm not sure about. And today, after a crashing thunderstorm last night, I discovered that the wee black one is no longer there, but another Queen Monarch is.
I'm hoping that they stay where we can see them form their chrysalis(es)...(ii)...(?)... we've never seen butterflies being born here in our garden before! I'm very excited about it.
*** LATER NOTE ***
Apparently, lots of people already knew about the connection between rue and caterpillars. HERE is one site. HERE is another. Learn something new every day!
Both caterpillars are the same. Like humans they change (sometimes dramatically) as they grow up - some children become beautiful after being gross little oblejcts and vice versa. "You musta been a beautiful baby 'cos baby look at you now..."
ReplyDeleteAh! That explains why the second Queen Monarch I found is so much smaller than the other. It was recently just a wee tiny black thing! They are both still in situ, the smaller one seemingly sitting stock still, the large one munching happily on all the rue flowers it can reach.
ReplyDeleteNice article, thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteAnna @ rental mobil jakarta
They look like the caterpillars we get on our verbascums - mullein moth. They can strip a plant in a couple of days but they are so beautiful I forgive them!
ReplyDelete