The Butterfly-weed plant (also called the Butterfly Milkweed) is a host plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillars. And at this stage of the metamorphosis of the Monarch, the larva are eating machines as the caterpillar continues to grow their pupa stage.
Monarch Caterpillar on Butterfly-weed
I noticed more butterflies, especially the Monarchs, while I was mowing today. But before the beautiful butterflies can appear, they first were eggs, which hatch into tiny caterpillars. The caterpillars eat milkweeds for about two week to grow full size, when then they transform into a chrysalis which undergoes a remarkable transformation, called metamorphosis. The end result is a beautiful butterfly, all from a caterpillar.
Monarch Caterpillar
