The first looks odd but the second doesn't...it just doesn't have much white. Has it been cold where they've been raised?

Sherry, I'm glad to hear that the second one just has less white...I wasn't sure. I'm having suspicions about the first one, like if it does managed to emerge as a butterfly, I'm thinking that it will probably be deformed, but I'm hoping that I'm wrong. I don't want to just outright kill the caterpillar until I know what the outcome of it will be. It acts perfectly normal and looks healthy, but of course all of those cats that I collected outside that later died looked normal when I brought them in too. I not really sure if this one was collected outside or if it came in when it was an egg.

Someone in PA is going to be really happy when she gets all of the eggs on Tuesday that I'm sending out tomorrow. I spent over two hours scouring over all of my milkweed plants so I could find as many as possible. I know I got at least 50, which surprised me because I didn't find that many the last time that I looked. I also found tiny caterpillars that I gave in and brought them in because I'm hoping nothing got to them before I did, but I don't bring them in past the second instar and even that's pushing it. There are bigger ones out there right now that I just refuse to bring in because I'd almost bet anything that none of them (okay, maybe one) will make it to adulthood.

No, it hasn't been cold here, not at all. It's been in the 80's and even low 90's and gets down to the 60's or 70's at night. I can tell that it's getting towards fall because I feel it getting cooler for night temps, that chill in the air. I'll probably be raising Monarchs for another month, but I think their numbers are gradually getting to be a little less. I was going to redo the butterfly cage this year, but today when I mentioned it to hubby he said to wait until next year, that I already have things laying around all over that I didn't finish because I'm always involved with the Monarchs. The cage makes it easier, but I can manage without it. I have all ten of my small storage containers screened now and put 6-8 cats in each of those and bring in leaves from outside for them. The others I juggle around out on our back porch and try to make sure I move fresh plants to them as they eat the other ones to the bare bones. Last year I had kept them in individual containers from the time I found them outside until the time they emerged as butterflies, but I think keeping a bunch together is a little easier. I especially like keeping them on plants on the back porch because that doesn't require a whole lot of my attention. Like I said, I just make sure that they all have fresh plants as they're finishing on one, and I also watch fot the long and plump look and put them in their own containers then before they start wandering off to pupate, although a few did beat me to it and pupated in odd places. Ha. I ran out of containers, so some had to have roommates instead of being on their own. It just is a little trickier feeding the one while the other one is hanging at the top, but they both go up to the top about the same time anyway.

Cathy