Max and Arlene will be 7 days old in a few hours. Yes, I decided to name them — why not? I’m spending a fair amount of time with them. No idea if I have a male and a female but it’s as good a guess as any.
And they’re starting to grow fast. Here’s a picture of Max:
OK, so he’s pretty small still (but bigger than Arlene) but he has easily quadrupled in size since emerging. He was about the length of the date on the coin when he first emerged but is now nearly the width of the coin.
I’ve gotten mornings pretty much down to a routine. I cut two small milkweed sprouts (they send up new leaders so I use this as an opportunity to keep the patch in place) and wrap the ends in a damp paper towel and clear plastic wrap. In the heat of summer they still wilt fast but hopefully this keeps them a bit fresher. Then I carefully use a bamboo skewer to look under the old leaves to find Max/Arlene — they’re often hiding — and gently snip off all of the remaining old leaves so I can transfer the caterpillar to the tray with the new leaves on it, then repeat for Arlene/Max. This seems to be working and I don’t have to handle either of the kids which would be nearly impossible and likely traumatic for them.
So far so good! But I’m still going to be nervous until they take flight from my hand for their long journey south.
