Monarch Butterfly Eggs in My Garden

Monarch butterfly eggs on a milkweed leaf

Two days ago I saw a monarch butterfly hovering over the milkweed plants that are growing in containers on my patio. Then I saw her land on a leaf, stay for a moment, then leave. She did this several times. After she left and I turned the leaf over I saw several small white dots--monarch butterfly eggs! In a few days, they will hatch into tiny caterpillars. The caterpillars will eat the milkweed leaves and, in a few weeks, turn into butterflies--the amazing process of metamorphosis. No matter how many times I see it, it always seems miraculous.

Monarch females usually lay a single egg on a milkweed plant, often on the bottom of a leaf near the top of the plant. Eggs are only about the size of a pinhead or pencil tip and are off-white or yellow, characterized by longitudinal ridges that run from the tip to the base.

Note: Monarch butterflies are increasingly endangered because of the disappearance of the milkweed plants that the caterpillars depend on for their food. 

Monarch butterfly on a wild milkweed plant in Wisconsin