Monarch Caterpillars

It's that time of year. Monarch caterpillars are found easily on the milkweed around here. This one was happy in my blueberry patch so I left him alone.

This itty bitty one was near our old house by the strawberry plants. I've never seen one this small before, but he was happily chomping away to make himself bigger.

We make sure to leave a significant patch of milkweed in the areas that are too bumpy to farm anyway. We also leave any we find with eggs already on them...even if it's in the pathway of my gardens. Butterflies in general have made a big appearance around here. Monarchs, yellow swallowtails, small yellow butterflies, sky blue butterflies, and even some that are black, red, and blue! It's exciting to see all the hard work over the years pay off. We plant more and more perennials and trees that flower. We try to make sure we leave a lot of milkweed and other native plants for the local insects. Native bees and butterflies are in abundance this year and it's simply wonderful to see. Type to you later peeps!