Day 7: see-able Waldo

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Metamorphosis Watch: Day 7

Only 24 hours have passed and the holes in the leaf—and Waldo moved on to a new leaf during the night—are much bigger and the 7-day-old monarch butterfly caterpillar is much larger as is its appetite. It will soon becomes ravenous. 

We're at a point where the monarch larva almost doubles its size every 48-hours making it much easier to see.


SPOILER: Nature is not always pretty. Being more see-able has a downside. Parasitic tachinid flies may land on the caterpillar and lay their own eggs. The resulting maggots burrow inside the monarch where they eat, develop and grow ultimately killing their living host. Gasp! 

Click for yesterday: Day 6.

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