Step outside, and go find a monarch caterpillar; milkweed is ever so abundant in our area, and long-time local legend Ed Wesely used to thrive this time of year when it came to monarch butterflies. He spent a lifetime studying, tagging and following the breeding cycles of these butterflies at his Butterfly Barn in Milanville, PA. 

When we first moved back to this area in 2020, I showed my wife the world of monarch butterflies and caterpillars. In 2021, after Ed’s passing, we raised one caterpillar in our house to a butterfly; we named it Ed in his honor. 

His impact on me as a youth helped me transcend as a parent today. I have a ton of milkweed on my property in Tyler Hill, PA and can identify it throughout our area, all thanks to Ed. 

I have been introducing my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to observing caterpillars as they turn into butterflies, and she loves it. Listening to her say the word “chrysalis” is probably my favorite part. 

Milkweed is the monarch butterfly’s primary host plant for egg-laying and caterpillar growth. If you inspect a patch of milkweed, it is not hard to notice where caterpillars have been eating the milk, a toxic latex substance that fills the leaves. You will also notice the piles of caterpillar turds on the lower leaves of the plant, depending on where the caterpillar is feeding. 

A larva will eat as if it were the Very Hungry Caterpillar, until it grows about two to three inches in length and a half-inch wide. Then it will find a strong part of the milkweed plant, or a nearby protected spot on a strong plant branch or fiber, and hang upside down in a J shape. It then begins swinging around in the J shape and will form a chrysalis around its body; the chrysalis is a bright green color with a goldish seam at the top section. The seam is where it will eventually emerge. 

It will develop from a larva into a butterfly after about five to seven days in the chrysalis. 

Once the chrysalis begins to turn black, you will see the monarch’s wings developing inside the hanging, cylinder-shaped chrysalis. The butterfly is sure to hatch within a day of the chrysalis turning black; then it slowly expands its wings and begins to flap them, getting used to its new body. Then it flies away, and comes to our flower gardens, and assists in pollinating our plants and flowers. 

These butterflies migrate as far as Mexico in the great monarch migration in late summer and fall. They then travel back north in the spring, laying eggs on milkweed, flying as far north as Canada in September. 

The butterflies have iconic red-and-black wings and have been revered in the butterfly world—hence the name “monarch.” Observing these caterpillars can get you outside looking at the plant and animal world and their symbiotic relationship like you’ve never seen before. These creatures are a wonder of the world; that a butterfly flies as far as Mexico from our area is quite the feat. 

So Step Outside and go observe nature in all its beauty; pay attention to detail; and try to find the yellow-and-black caterpillars on a chewed piece of a milkweed plant. It is a fun activity, with cheap rewards in finding caterpillars, butterflies and chrysalises.