Fall PB and J

A bit of news on the nature front. Much has changed since I first introduced you to Yipes the Monarch caterpillar. If you haven't met Yipes yet, get to know him here before reading the rest of this post.

And now, the continuation of Yipes' arrival...

09.14 Starting to see Yipes' wings

09.15 Yipes' colors are showing

After much anticipation, Yipes emerged from his crysalis on September 15th. He spent more time gearing up to fly than I expected he would so I spent a day worrying he wasn't going to make it. As a nervous first time butterfly Mother I used every trick I knew to help Yipes succeed. I made sugar water and put a sponge full of it in his cage, I gave him a bloom from his favorite milkweed plant, I brought his cage outside into the sun. One of the many reasons I like butterflies is that they thrive in sunshine, I can relate. The sun did the trick and in just a few hours Yipes was fluttering about in his cage and it was time to say goodbye. You can watch his maiden voyage here. Yipes is likely well into his big flight South to winter in Mexico. Since he was born in the Fall, he is tasked with a great migration of about 2,500 miles. He'll hibernate with his friends in a tree and return in the Spring to mate before his life ends. No GPS, no map, just instinct. Another way Mother Nature amazes me.

09.16 Tada! 

His home served him well

But wait, there's more!

Last week I exchanged some of my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk cookies for two Monarch caterpillars (Peanut and Butter) that my Parents found in their prairie.

09.28 Peanut the Monarch caterpillar

09.28 Butter the Monarch caterpillar

We all agreed that it seemed quite late for these guys to be getting started in life but I enthusiastically made them welcome in their new home. Then it got cold. Peanut and Butter stopped eating. They stopped moving and I began bracing myself for a very sad goodbye. I diligently provided fresh milkweed daily and even moved their cages outside during the warmest time of day in hopes of a recovery. All the while thinking hurry up you guys - you have a lot of work to do and thousands of miles to fly ahead of you. For a week the only signs of life came when I would nudge them to see if they were still alive. No eating, no pooping, no walking. Very unusual behavior for a caterpillar. So today, when I saw Butter (who had been the least responsive of the two) speeding around the ceiling of his cage I was thrilled! I swiftly moved both cages into the sun and added some super fresh milkweed leaves. Both have been chomping away all afternoon.

As if the news about P&B wasn't exciting enough, I get to introduce you to another new caterpillar friend, Jelly. I found Jelly hanging out on the same milkweed that I found Yipes on. Truth be told, I was freaked out by him at first. He seemed slimy and creepy for some reason. Then, before I could get a good picture of him the temperatures dropped and he seemed to shrivel up, hiding under a leaf. But today, he joined P&B in their sunshine party.

10.06 Peanut and Jelly (in the background)

I haven't seen Jelly eating today but he was scooting around a bit. Not sure what kind he is yet, I'll keep you posted as I learn more. In the mean time, if you see any Monarchs make sure to tell them to head South.