Very hungry caterpillars head toward the pupa stage

The two large monarch caterpillars we found earlier this week are doing well. We couldn't spot the tiny one today, but we hope it is just hiding and growing. I wanted to post an update on the larger two, though, because things are definitely moving along quickly.

It has been two days since we brought the caterpillars inside and put them in the terrarium. The bigger caterpillar has entered the J stage of development, attaching itself to a stem in preparation for forming its chrysalis.

The smaller caterpillar is still a virtual eating machine. Overnight, it had devoured most of its leaves, so we added fresh leaves from the plant in the back yard. If it has not entered its J stage tomorrow, we'll have to hunt in nearby fields for fresh milkweed, because almost all the leaves from the original vine are now gone.

In the meantime, you can see how much the hungry caterpillar munched out of this new leaf in just a minute or so after we replenished its supply.

Here's a link to another blog, the Texas Butterfly Ranch by Monika Maeckle, and her post all about raising monarch butterflies. She has some gorgeous photos and lots of helpful advice. I love that there are so many great resources where knowledgeable folks have shared their experience and families like ours can not only get a great homeschool science lesson, but also learn what we need to know to successfully help a few more monarch butterflies survive.