Adult monarchs lay their eggs only on milkweed leaves. Photo by Jim Lovett, Monarch Watch.
A hungry monarch caterpillar up-close. Photo by Martin LaBar via Flickr/Creative Commons.
A gang of monarch caterpillars munching on milkweed. Photo by Jim Lovett, Monarch Watch.
A monarch caterpillar sheds the skin it has outgrown. Photo by Sid Mosdell.
A caterpillar in the J-shape, getting ready to turn into a chrysalis (pupa). Photo by Sid Mosdell.
The monarch’s early chrysalis stage. Photo by Sid Mosdell.
The monarch’s chrysalis stage a day or two before the butterfly emerges. Photo by Sid Mosdell.
An adult monarch emerges from its chrysalis. Photo by Sid Mosdell.
Recently emerged monarchs and their empty chrysalis shells. Photo by Jim Lovett, Monarch Watch.
A cluster of monarch butterflies in their Mexican winter home. Photo by Robert Wiedenmann.
A cascade of monarchs in the Mexican sky. Photo by Tarnya Hall.