My Quest to Save Monarch Butterflies, Part 7

When two caterpillars cross paths, I've seen them swing their upper bodies at each other and antagonize each other for a few seconds before going their own ways. I was startled the first time I witnessed it. I learned quickly that they don't harm each other; it's all for show. Ha!!

Caterpillars can exhibit strange behavior, for instance, this one is rearing back and waving its front section to the left and right. Aerobics?
 This photo was taken through a glass jar causing some blurriness. 

I often had several caterpillars in the same enclosure.  I have 3 enclosures so I kept "cats" of similar size together. Most of the time they coexisted with little friction.

After shedding, the remnants make a hearty meal.

Another caterpillar is growing too big for its britches. 

When I notice a caterpillar has wandered away from the milkweed I have provided for it, that's a good sign that it is going to shed.

Notice the size of this milkweed leaf. It is from Jared's plants, a different kind with much larger leaves than mine.

I plan to go into detail with photos and narrative describing the initial stages of transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis form in my next blog post.