One could say "isn't the Queen the Monarch?"! I hadn't even considered the similarity in the names of the Monarch and the Queen until just now as I started to write this post. I suppose their royal-like presence is what inspired their names. (hmm something to research)
I had seen some Queen butterflies in the yard but not until a few weeks ago had I seen the Queen caterpillar. While inspecting some of the eaten up milkweed I spotted this little guy. There are certainly some similarities to the Monarch caterpillar especially the coloring but the stripes are certainly different and there is that extra set of tentacles and aren't those red dots cool?!
The pink flowers in the background are salvia. These photos were taken in my wildflower garden so everything grows like a jungle. However the jungle is getting a major thinning right now after a summer of running super wild!
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They are really lovely in their own way aren't they? Good thing you are so observant too-they could be easily missed.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics as always Gina; and I thought there were initially the caterpillar stage of the Monarch. Shows you what I know, huh?
ReplyDeletegreat shots Gina! I hope you get to watch and capture the rest of the transformation!
ReplyDeletewonderful photos. They make them look very distinctive.
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