Stage 2: Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar

It’s time to learn about Stage 2: Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar!! Your Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar has just emerged! The very first thing they do is eat their egg. This gives them the nutrients and proteins they need to begin this new stage. At this point they are extremely small. Less than a ¼ inch long, and you can barely see their coloring. Don’t let this little one fool you though, they can eat!

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***** Disclaimer: I am not a scientist and in no way claim to be the knower of all things Monarch. I am simply sharing the knowledge I have gained from hours and hours of research, and my own experience. I always encourage everyone to do their own research from multiple different resources*****

Your Caterpillar will be in this stage for around 15 days. In this time frame they will go through 5 molting stages. The time in between molts often times referred to as instar stages. When a caterpillar is born it is considered a 1 instar. The reason for the molting is due to their little bodies growing so fast they need a larger skin. Their First molt will happen 2-3 days after hatching from egg.

A Monarch Caterpillar can consume an entire milkweed leaf in less than five minutes. From the time they are born from the egg, until they go into their Chrysalis (Fun Fact: Moths form Cocoons, Butterflies form Chrysalis) they will gain about 2700 times their original weight!

When you are raising Monarch Caterpillars it is important to not have to many in one enclosure. Having to many Cats in one enclosure can spread diseases and cramped space can cause to much stress for these little guys. Also just as important is to make sure you have plenty to Milkweed to be able to support these super hungry cats.

Milkweed supply: One way I have found to help is not only having milkweed in my flowerbed but also planting Milkweed in pots. Having your Milkweed in pots makes it easy to switch out plants when you hungry Cats have ate all the leaves. Once a plant has all its leaves eaten you can switch it out, place it outside of the enclosure, take off all remaining leaf partials, and within a few weeks your plant will grow back new healthy delicious new leaves!! I currently plant 50 pots of Milkweed as my supply. And very rarely, if ever, do I have to go find new plants to feed them because I have ran out.

Now your Monarch Caterpillar is fully grown and has eaten as much as they can. They will now climb to the top of the enclosure or somewhere they view as safe and start to hang. Using silk will attach them self’s hanging head down from the cage in the famous “J” hang.