The Chonks Return!

Butterfly season got off to a really late start here this year. I didn’t end up seeing any of the first generation of monarchs. We get two generations in this area in the summer and usually I start seeing the first generation in late May/early June. I didn’t see my first monarch until July this year, which was unusual. Thankfully, the actual numbers for generation two are pretty good!

I’ve got dozens of eggs, caterpillars and chrysalises. So far I’ve released six butterflies. The one in the final image was the first one. There’s also a fifth instar caterpillar, a fairly new chrysalis, a chrysalis a few hours before butterfly time, and a wild butterfly who was hanging out in my Japanese maple.