Now that our weather is cooling and the Asian Paper Wasps have stopped killing/eating caterpillars and eggs in order to feed protein to their young, I'm seeing a few caterpillars growing on my swan plants. Yes, Monarch butterflies are still swooping around the garden and laying eggs, so perhaps there might be even more caterpillars to see soon. We've had them here as late as June in the past.
I brought these two inside to the safety of the caterpillar castle, a couple of weeks ago, and they've now grown into their 5th and final instar.
Yesterday they finished eating and, overnight, formed into their J's on the roof of the caterpillar castle.
Because our weather is rapidly cooling into Autumn, these ones will take a little longer than the average 10 days to pupate and emerge as butterflies.
I've had them in a chrysalis for 30 days, in the past at this time of year. Let's see how long these ones take 🐛