I'm so excited!

After reading about Jason's success at raising some monarchs, I decided I just had to search my milkweed patch for some eggs. But first, I watched a YouTube video to get a better idea of what I was doing. (I would have provided a link but the video I saw was mostly about the danger monarchs are in. Yes, we know! That's why we want to gather their eggs!)

While eyeballing the undersides of the leaves, I noticed evidence of some chomping but no caterpillars. I also saw plenty of other critters that may or may not eat monarch eggs and/or baby caterpillars. Apparently, the eggs provide a "pop of protein" - just like poultry eggs for people.

Just when I was giving up hope, a couple of monarchs arrived. The milkweed is past its bloom time, so the butterflies were not looking for nectar. I stood very still and waited until one of them landed and hung along the edge of a leaf for a moment or so. When I inspected the leaf, this is what I found:

I harvested two leaves, each with one egg, and put them in mason jars, replacing the lids with paper towels to allow for air flow. I don't have anything else very useful for raising monarchs, so I ordered a butterfly habitat on Amazon. The eggs should hatch in about four days, so that gives me a little time.

Meanwhile, SQUEE!!!