Arizona’s seasons are often out of sync, especially in the Sonoran Desert. When everyone else is shutting down and getting ready for fall and winter, our wildlife is gearing up. A few weeks ago, we featured some insect eggs. Now we have caterpillars and chrysalids galore.
Take this larva of a queen butterfly resting on a rush milkweed. It is taking advantage of the new growth the plants are putting out after recent rains.
Some of the faster developing larvae have already transformed into chrysalids. They will soon be adult queen butterflies.
The skipper butterflies have already reached adulthood and are ready to lay eggs again.
Check out this post by Margarethe Brummermann who says there were 28 species of butterflies (as well as other insects) in Madera Canyon this week. She also posted an amazing video on Flickr.
 What insects did you see this week?
