 Here's a night shot of the one hanging on the catnip planter. It formed after dark on Friday night. All of the ones that have formed or been located since Friday morning have been opaque and waxy, with gold metallic markings. They look much sturdier than the first one I was following.
The photo doesn't look that great, but I'm delighted - I use a Sony Mavica, and this was after dark, when I could see absolutely nothing in the display on the back of the camera! The flash worked well and I had it properly aimed. Some of the catnip in the planter is in focus and the chrysalis somewhat less so. The color shows up well, and the shape is distinctive enough for it to be instantly recognizable.
I now have a sample of four, and I have to say that the worms don't always wait until dark. Early this afternoon, while I was running errands--in daylight--the caterpillar that was hanging upside down yesterday and this morning formed its pupa!
The picture on the left is the one that formed in early afternoon. The one on the right had the matallic look to it this morning, which made me expect it to form the chrysalis tomorrow. It made one later this afternoon!
There are still a number of large caterpillars on the milkweed, as well as a few smaller ones. I haven't seen any new tiny guys in over a week. The rain and cooler weather appears to have inhibited the butterflies from laying eggs, or else kept those eggs from hatching. Here's a shot of the busiest section I could find. How many caterpillars do you see?
Hugs,
Liddy
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Hi Liddy, that's a pretty good camera, I see 7 caterpillars?