Our mystery caterpillars have entered the next phase of their metamorphosis. We now we think they will turn into moths rather than butterflies because these look like cocoons rather than chrysalids:
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| One "cocoon" is on the edge of the butterfly house. |
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| The other is on the underside of a leaf. I returned it to the butterfly house upside down after photographing. |
Do you think you know what it is? Please share.
I don't want to spoil your fun, Michelle, but I will tell you my favorite field guide for creatures you find in milkweed meadows. (I thought I left this in a comment on your previous post, but I must have flubbed it!)
ReplyDeleteMILKWEED, MONARCHS, AND MORE
A Field Guide to the Invertebrate Community in the Milkweed Patch
By Ba Rea, Karen Oberhauser, Michael A. Quinn
Best of all, you can buy this lovely little guide through MonarchWatch and help preserve monarch butterflies and their migration at the same time!
And I heartily second the Bugguide.net recommendation. The folks there can identify EVERYTHING.
Happy exploring!
Loree
www.loreeburns.com
Ooohh! That book looks great! Thanks for the tip, Loree.
ReplyDeleteReaders, here's the address (You'll need to copy/paste it into your browser):
http://shop.monarchwatch.org/store/p/1193-Milkweed-Monarchs-and-More.aspx