Adorable Surprise in the Climbing Aloe

  At least twice a day I inspect the garden for new growth, damage to plants, and the effectiveness of the drip system. I peruse the place before leaving for work and again when I return home in the evening. If I'm very lucky I'll run into one of the many-legged denizens of my yard. This particular morning I was lucky enough to find, in the climbing aloe of all places, a monarch caterpillar preparing to cocoon!

  One of the nonsucculents I grow is a tenacious and twiggy milkweed. Monarch butterflies drink the nectar and lay their eggs on the leaves. The eggs hatch and the caterpillars use the plant as a nursery and kitchen, chomping away until they grow large enough for their metamorphosis. At this point the caterpillar leaves mama milkweed and finds a hanging structure with some height to install itself in cocoon form. Usually this happens along the flagstone section of wall closest to the milkweed, or occasionally the woody lavender bush. Somehow, this little larvae crawled all the way across the yard to wind up in the aloe!

  It was pretty obvious from the pose that it was time to spin. Yes, those black lumps on the spiderweb ARE caterpillar poops!

  The insect wasn't quite ready to spin yet, and started a curl-up when I got too close. This afternoon I arrived home to find:

 

 Aw! I missed the action! If I keep the milkweed I'm sure I'll have another chance!