Poetry Friday: The First Caterpillar of the Year!
Late yesterday afternoon, I saw my first monarch caterpillar of the year. Really?!
Wow, it is late. Five years ago, I saw my first larva on June 19th, according to the data I submitted as a citizen scientist for Journey North. (see below)
We did move three hours north, but we moved to a cabin that we built in 2005 and have visited multiple times a year since. So, I am familiar with the natural rhythms of this place as well. And it’s still late.
The caterpillar was at least a stage 3 instar, perhaps a stage 4. I couldn’t really get a good look at it because I didn’t want to touch the milkweed as I had just sprayed it with “OFF” for our evening walk. Unfortunately, I’ve made that mistake before and I never want to make it again. I learned my lesson; don’t touch plants or insects you want to watch develop if you use a chemical product on your person. It is easily passed on to other (much smaller) living things and is deadly. I guess that’s the point when using it to deter mosquitos and black flies, but not monarch eggs or larva.
Since this caterpillar was a decent size and munching away on a common milkweed plant, he/she had been around a while — maybe a week to ten days. The reason I noticed the caterpillar tonight was that I saw the leaves had been eaten on the milkweed. Eaten…
