In Which: something is happening in the tomato patch

Here is a caterpillar, hanging upside down next to a little tomato:

It's a monarch caterpillar, hatched from an egg on a nearby milkweed plant. Why there are no monarch butterflies in Montana? There are no milkweed plants. Milkweed is the only place monarchs lay eggs, and milkweed is the only food the caterpillar eats. Jon Drew has made sure there are lots of milkweed plants in the parents' back yard:

So, the next day, look what is found hanging next to the little tomato:

It's well camouflaged, this little chrysalis. After a few days, there were tiny golden dots on it - too small for me to take a good picture of. When I checked it a few days later, I could hardly find it, because the tomato had grown so much:

I'll keep you posted - on the chrysalis and the tomato.
posted by the librarian