As promised, I’ve been keeping an eye on the rush milkweed to see what is happening.
No caterpillars yet, but we’ve had more of these:
Monarch butterflies are still laying eggs.
Each flower bud cluster now has at least one egg.
With temperatures ranging from 99 degrees Fahrenheit to the 30s, we’ll see how many hatch.
It is November, but a few days ago I spotted a monarch butterfly circling our yard. With a bit of patience and serendipity, I was able to catch it in action (refresh if the video player is wonky).
Yes, it laid an egg on the rush milkweed.
I’ll be keeping an eye on the plant and let you know if anything hatches.
Here’s an earlier photo from December 15, 2010.
What has happened to Bug of the Week? Where has it been? This summer and fall it has been excessively hot and dry. The heat and lack of water has been hard on the trees, hard on the insects, just plain hard.
This week, however, there’s been a break in the weather.
Convergent lady beetle at Boyce Thompson Arboretum.
Surprise!
It’s great to be back.
Have you found any insects where you live this week?
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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