A little bit about the monarchs featured in my monarch release sessions
I raise the monarchs for my release sessions in my home. Less than 10% of the eggs laid by monarch butterflies survive to become butterflies themselves out in the wild. When they are raised indoors, away from predators, disease, and storms, their survival rate increases to 90-95%. I'm passionate about doing my part to save the migratory monarchs, and I love sharing my experience with others.
The female monarch lays her eggs on the undersides of the leaves of the milkweed plant. Four days later it hatches.
This baby caterpillar is about a day and a half old. The caterpillar will increase in size about 2000x from its hatched size.
This caterpillar is enjoying a seed pod as it continues to grow. It molts five times, the last time it molts, it becomes a chrysalis.
The chrysalis as it appears on the day the butterfly emerges. It has been in this form between 8-14 days, depending on the time of year.
A beautiful male monarch