Yep…I don’t know how many Monarch caterpillars I have.
I started out taping a small note to each tray indicating how many eggs and how many larvae were on each, useful information when transferring them to fresh milkweed leaves – did I get them all?
But I’ve been replacing them more sporadically, just individual plant stalks that have wilted, rather than doing the full tray all at once. And I keep spotting new hatchlings! There are quite a few 3rrd instars now so they’re much easier to keep an eye on, but the little ones can get tucked between two tiny leaflets (they prefer the tender fresh tips) so hard to keep track.
Here’s a “family portrait” of all three trays, and there are at least six caterpillars – see if you can spot them all!
