Monarchs and Swallowtails

Here are three caterpillars I photographed this morning. The monarch cat, left, is munching on front yard milkweed while the swallowtail cat (middle) eats fennel. The one on the bottom is the dreaded, yet beautiful, tomato hornworm. This one will basically devour your tomato plants (and pepper plants). You have to look carefully for them since they blend in with the green stems. You can sometimes track them down by looking for their black poo pellets. I hate to kill them, but....my pond catfish love them.

Baldwin City Milkweed

Along N 375 Rd.

I have seen more milkweed this year than in the last five summers. Some has come up in my yard in unexpected places, such as between paving stones and amid the gravel under my porch. Monarchs need it, so consider planintg some in your yard. For more info, see the Monarch Watch page at http://monarchwatch.org/index.html You can click onto the link from the MW picture on the right column.

Along E 1750 Rd.