Is it too late to find caterpillars?

[ourtribeoffive]

I have a four year old son that wants to find some caterpillars and watch them become butterflies. We have been out looking at milkweed, but can not find any. Is it too late to find them this year in Montana?

[Paul Cherubini]

No it's not too late. During the 2nd week of Sept. in 1989 I found a full grown monarch caterpillar up at Malta, Montana. And during the first week of Sept. in 1992 I found another one just a few miles east of Billings, Montana.

You might have better luck spotting caterpillars near sunset and also in the morning when the caterpillars are more actively crawling over the upper parts of the milkweeds. During the middle of the day and during the afternoon the caterpillars tend to hide in nearby grass or other concealed areas. Also, look at the undersides of the milkweed leaves as sometimes they are hidden under there. And look for caterpillar droppings as that is another clue that they are present.

[ourtribeoffive]

Thank you for your tips. We will have to check it out again after we drop big sister off at school tomorrow morning. I was pretty sure that we found them right after school started when I was younger and we did them as a class project, but we were in Wyoming and I was just a bit discouraged when we did not find anything today. We'll keep our eyes open for them.

[Mona Miller]

Monarch butterfly numbers are down this year and that is why you may not be finding them. They also hide in the morning, I've found them on the rim of pots down in the grass in the morning, too. I think they often go off the milkweed too during molts (changing from one instar to another). This can take up to a day. Look for milkweed that isn't too far gone. Females usually try to find some tender leaves to lay eggs on.