More Monarchs

I did another survey of monarch caterpillars for the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project out at Audubon's Beechwood Farms. It's super simple to do, and mainly involves finding yourself a patch of milkweed and counting eggs and caterpillars. I think the caterpillars are very adorable, so I brought along my camera.

Monarch caterpillar.

Large milkweed bug.

Monarch butterfly.

Horned spanworm moth caterpillar.

Lightning bug.

Two-lined spittlebug. The nymphs make those foamy nests that resemble spit that you can find occasionally on plants.

Large milkweed bug nymphs.

Shell of a monarch chrysalis.

Monarch egg.

This is a jumping spider, probably Paraphidippus aurantius.

After I noticed it, it turned around and gave me the eye. It seems to have just caught lunch.

Later I took a peak and found the spider still there and happily munching on another bug.