I was digging up some of my yard to convert to a garden and discovered some large green grubs (two inches or so long and about the size of my 8 yr old's pinky) and dark red/brown chrysalis'. What the heck are these? Should I be worried?

I've had plenty of BSTs, most are dark, but a few have been green. I have a few in a mesh hamper right now, 4 are brown and 1 is green. I also had 2 recently pupate directly on a parsley stem; 1 is green and the other brown. I don't know if there is a logical explanation, but I'd sure love to know why.

Thanks for the replies. I will try to find some of that glue. I am especially glad he or she will not eclose in the middle of winter. tdogmom - I actually thought of you and your toilet when I realized I might be missing one. (it was you with the toilet pupae, right? And the carpet?) Another one made his chrysalis today, and 3 more are almost ready. The last one to hang was a real pistol...he kept trying to get out of the hamper - he made it once but I caught him. I kept putting sticks in his path, but he didn't seem to like them. I had to go to bed, so I finally got him onto a stick and put it in a jar with saran wrap in top. He had no choice but to attach to that stick ;) More babies are on the way -- 5 or 6 hatched yesterday, and about a dozen more should by tomorrow. I finally had to stop bringing the eggs in off of my parsley - I don't know if I'll have enough to feed the upcoming herd! I plan to get some more parsley from the nursery. Of course, last time I did that I inspected them and picked the ones with eggs and baby cats. It's a sickness! Oh, and a very cute thing....the hatchlings are so tiny, and they really don't move too much. I thought one was dead so I nudged it to check. He stuck his little teeny osmeterium out at me! hehe.

Probably because the green stem will eventually turn brown and wither away; not good for an overwintering chrysalis. The gnats have seemed to have disappeared, probably because of the chilly nights we've been having. I had 5 BST's still in the cage, but one had to be euthanized. It's back half appeared dead, darkened, and couldn't hold on to the parsley stem, while the top half could hang on and looked perfect. Rather than research, I went with my gut and made my decision. I've definitely had my share of heartaches this year with the BST's, which was my first full year of rearing them. I've also had more monarch casualties than usual. If all goes well with the remaining 4 cats, I should have 7 overwintering chrysalids. I won't count my chickens though that they'll all emerge in perfect condition. I just may have to wrap my cage in burlap over the winter. It was easy to protect my 1 overwintering chrysalid last year, but 7, and them being all over the cage (from top to bottom), might be a challenge for me ;)