Greeny-Head Grows!

Greeny-Head is growing by leaps and bounds. We feel so blessed to watch "her" amazing growth. Of course, we will not know until Greeny-Head emerges from the chrysalis if "she" really is a she - we just have a feeling. Here she is, on the same size leaf as the last photo I posted of her.

Such brilliant colors. Those brilliant colors are there for a reason. Instead of being camouflaged and blending in to her surroundings, Greeny-Head takes the "BACK OFF!" approach to life. This is because a monarch caterpillar feeds solely on Common Milkweed (Asclepias syrica), which has a chemical compound in its leaves that makes her poisonous to any would-be predators. And showing that poisonous side of her off helps keep her safe from caterpillar eating birds.

Here you can see how much of the leaf she has eaten overnight. I took this photo on Sunday morning, and just Saturday evening I took a drive to pick her another milkweed plant.

























The results of her leaf munching is a healthy pile of caterpillar droppings on the leaf below. Always a happy sight when you're raising a caterpillar.