Tag: pupa

Discovering a Monarch Chrysalis on Rosemary

It is not usual to see a Monarch caterpillar on a Rosemary plant. Monarchs like Milkweed. But this one had a purpose, and had traveled quite a long way to be there.

I have one Rosemary plant in a pot on my back deck. On March 24th I noticed this caterpillar climbing all over it. I recognized it as a Monarch caterpillar and wondered what it was doing on the rosemary.

My first thought was, “You poor thing, you must be lost.” I know he needed milkweed to eat. But, I also know that some caterpillars crawl away from the host plant to create their pupa. I left him alone, and didn’t see him the next day. I figured the birds got him.

Monarch caterpillar
Monarch caterpillar on rosemary plant.
March 24th

I worry about cardinals eating the caterpillars, but I guess birds don’t like the taste. I do see lots of caterpillars, and then they disappear. I always figure something ate them.

A day or two later I was at the Rosemary plant to cut a piece for my tea. And there it was. A beautiful green chrysalis! It had what looked like a gold band near the top and little gold specks. The caterpillar chose a spot down under a branch, which makes it difficult to see. The caterpillar had not disappeared. He, or she, had morphed and was no longer a caterpillar.

Although I do have some milkweed in my yard, it is pretty far away from the rosemary. It is a long way for a caterpillar to crawl!

I had to look this up. One notation mentioned they will crawl as far as 30 feet from the host milkweed! I don’t know how this little guy made it to the rosemary. My best guess is that it is 20 to 30 feet, from my milkweed.

The day after I found the chrysalis, we had a huge, windy rain storm. The wind blew hard, from all directions and I was a bit worried. The attachment was good and the chrysalis remained.

Monarch chrysalis
Monarch green chrysalis on rosemary
On Rosemary plant

Today is April 5th and the chrysalis is darker in color (see photo below). I can see a wing inside! It has been 11 days since I saw the caterpillar. The Life Cycle, Monarch Joint Venture page says this stage can last 8-15 days.

I should expect to see a butterfly soon!

monarch chrysalis is getting darker
Can you see the wing?

Even if I miss the butterfly emerging, I’m happy to have had this chrysalis in my garden. I might get more rosemary and put it nearer the milkweed. The sturdy branches might be what drew him all this way. It makes me wonder if the caterpillar somehow knew the rosemary was here and purposefully headed to it.

I’ll be watching this one closely.

*Update – The next day…

The chrysalis was very dark the next morning. I had some vegetable plant watering to do, but finally went to get my iPhone for a picture. I was too late! The butterfly was already out and on the Rosemary.

If you see a very dark colored chrysalis, sit and watch! It wasn’t long at all. I’m sorry I missed his emergence, but I got to see him before he flew away.

In fact he has been sitting on the plant for hours now.

Freshly hatched, Monarch butterfly near open chrysalis.
newly hatched monarch butterfly
A new monarch
Waiting to fly
butterfly divider flowers

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This is Why I Leave the Dill Alone

If you have an aphid infestation, check regularly for ladybug eggs, larvae and pupa on the plants.

I believe in not being too quick to clean up the garden. It is June, and my old, aphid-filled dill plants are now full of ladybug larvae! This is why I leave plants up after they have grown, bloomed and begun to die.

Dill is one of the great herbs to grow in the garden. Some of my plants have come up on their own. When I see them growing I just leave them. The flowers are gorgeous and feed bees and butterflies. The seeds are easy to gather and save, and black swallowtail butterflies lay eggs here.

yellow dill flower with wasp
Dill flower
dill caterpillars

Dill does not like the extreme Florida summer heat and the plants are done flowering by June. The seeds have formed, and I did cut one big head off to save the seeds for next Spring. The rest, are still on the plants, which now look pretty awful.

Aphids have found the old dill plant and it is covered in them! But there are also many ladybug larvae and even a ladybug or two.

Aphids and larvae
old dill plant
Old dill is full of aphids, which ladybugs love!

The day I saw all this larvae, I counted 15 little guys crawling around. They are tiny, and hard to see in the mess of aphids, so there might be even more.

The next day I realized they were beginning to attach and hang – going into the pupa stage.

four ladybug larvae attaching
curled ladybug larvae
ladybug larvae on dill
ladybug larvae hanging
Becoming pupa
Next day
Larvae to pupa

A few days later the new ladybugs were crawling all over the dried dill stalks.

Newly hatched ladybug exploring the dried dill seeds

Ladybugs on the Hon Tsai Flowering Broccoli

Just a few weeks before the dill ladybugs were noticed, I had watched ladybugs come out of their pupa stage on my Hon Tsai flowering broccoli plant. It was setting seeds, and had some aphids at the top. This was a random plant that grew late in the season.

Ladybugs feed on aphids, so they lay eggs where the “babies” aka larvae, will be able to get food.

Just out of the pupa
newly hatched spotted ladybug
The spotted one

Four ladybugs hatched from their “shells” which were attached to the seed stems of this plant. Three ladybugs were solid orange, and one had loads of black spots.

ladybug just hatched
Newly hatched ladybug!

Dill is Feeding the Caterpillars

Even though the dill plants have mostly died and are drying up, I have found two caterpillars on one of them.

There is not much left for them to eat. I’m very surprised that the cardinals have not picked them off by now. I check on the beauties every day, but I have big doubts that they will reach pupa stage.

*Update: the next day one caterpillar was gone and the day after the other one was gone too. I suspect birds needed a meal.

black swallowtail caterpillars
black swallowtail caterpillars
black swallowtail caterpillars
black swallowtail caterpillars
This guy is so pretty, he almost looks fake.

This is a reminder to look closely at what is happening in the garden. Before you decide to rip out that old plant, consider what creatures might need it for shelter, eggs, or food.

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Life Stages of the Ladybug With Photos

Ladybugs will eat aphids, but ladybugs appear in various forms. Know the larvae stage and let it live to eat those aphids.

Not only are ladybugs cute, but they are beneficial to gardeners.   Often gardeners wonder how to bring ladybugs to the yard?  The simple answer is to hope for garden problems in the form of pests that feel ladybugs.

Ladybugs, or lady beetles as they are sometimes called, are helpful in vegetable and flower gardens mainly because they love to eat aphids and other garden pests. Aphids are one of the worst pests gardeners deal with. When aphids begin to show up on leaves, flowers and buds, they ring the dinner bell for ladybugs.

Unfortunately as gardeners, we have to have unwanted bugs in order to get these beneficials to the yard. It makes sense. Ladybugs (and other beneficial insects) go where the food is.

Continue reading “Life Stages of the Ladybug With Photos”