A tiny butterfly egg is deposited on a host plant.

A green caterpillar is eating bloom buds of its host plant.

A pinkish angular butterfly chrysalis is hanging on the rim of a pot. A thin stabilizing thread is seen from the middle of the chrysalis to the pot side.

An empty butterfly chrysalis hanging on a branch of the host plant for the caterpillar is evidence that a new butterfly entered the world.

Life and times of a Cloudless sulfur Butterfly before the winged stage.

1- egg laid on host plant

2- caterpillar who has been mostly eating the green leaves

3- a fresh chrysalis

4- an empty successful chrysalis

All seen today in the pollinator / butterfly garden at home

#invertes

Two brand new butterflies are hanging from the top of a cage as their wings dry out and prepare for fight.

Two butterflies drying their wings preparing to fly!
Fly far, little ones 🦋❤️
8 chrysalids on that edge of the cage are waiting in the ‘wings’ 😁

As I opened the door to the cage, another butterfly flew out! Obviously ready to go!

#invertes

Yellow, white, and black monarch caterpillars crawling on their host plant - milkweed

We see a dark monarch chrysalis with wings showing through the clear shell and three more green chrysalids with gold trim near by in the protective cage.

Checking in on the Monarchs this morning.
Early life stages

Caterpillars

Chrysalids, looks like a couple will be busting out today! (wings showing through the shell of the chrysalis as it turned from green to dark)
#invertes 🦋

An orange, black , and white brand new butterfly has emerged from its light green chrysalis and is hanging from the top of a cage that has protected them as a caterpillar.

And so it begins- again. First release from the current batch of about 40 chrysalids. This one is a female. #invertes 🦋

A caterpillar is turning yellow from eating the bright yellow blooms of its host plant.

Still at least one Cloudless sulfur caterpillar on the host tree in this hot weather. Turning yellow from eating the blooms. #invertes 🐛

A yellow butterfly is hanging on to the chrysalis it just emerged from. The chrysalis is attached to an almost leafless milkweed branch. It is a cloudless sulfur butterfly.

(Narrowleaf) Milkweed, not just for Monarchs!
Apparently also a nice place for a Cloudless sulfur chrysalis and now a brand new butterfly 🦋
#invertes

A quick pan across the top of the protective cage that tries to keep the Monarch caterpillars safe from parasitoid flies and wasps.
I didn’t count but probably a couple dozen chrysalids on top now. The warm weather is speeding their progress. May see butterflies soon.🦋 #invertes Western population

A large shiny black beetle is walking along a hiking trail at a local park. It was moved off of the trail to be safe.

Volunteer gig is just about over , but first I must move this lumbering fellow off of a walking trail!
Growing up in the desert, we called these Stink bugs. #invertes

A brown Crane fly is looking up through an opening in a patio table. Two of the insect’s long legs are reaching up to the top of the table.

Sitting down at the patio table for lunch and saw this guy peering up through the metal slats of the table. Those long legs! Peekaboo

Crane fly #invertes

Sigh, typos running rampant…

#invertes millipede

🤷‍♂️

A medium sized orange butterfly has landed on a succulent plant near a passion vine that is the host plant for this butterfly. It has 8 spots on its wings.

Several fritillary flutterbies are flittering around our potted passion vines. #invertes

A yellow butterfly is depositing eggs on a host plant that will nourish the caterpillar stage of the butterfly.

Looks like the host plant is getting salted with tiny white eggs by a female Cloudless sulfur Butterfly. Should be more cats 🐛🐛 crawling around soon. #invertes

The day I discovered there were Longhorn bees was a memorable one for me!

This guy was visiting a blooming tithonia in our yard. Those antennae!!
#invertes #nativebees

A very small praying mantis is on a milkweed stem. The bug is much smaller than the leaves on the milkweed.

A super tiny mantis, found while looking for Monarch caterpillars on potted milkweed. Three or four mm maybe (.10”?). #invertes

A brown moth has been sheltering under an awning on the side of a house for a couple days during inclement weather. The moth has brown wings with light brown and white stripes.

Good job, Sphinx moth!
It stayed in a sheltered location waiting out the blustery off and on rain for two days.
Fairly nice weather today, better for the weekend, opportunities to fly off are near.
#invertes

A moth is resting on a wall under a patio cover on a cool cloudy day. The moth is light and dark brown and has thin white lines on its wings. The moth is facing up. This is a close up image of the moth that is slightly over one inch long.

A more distant view showing the moth near the top of a wall under a tall patio cover.

An occasional visitor around the yard, this White-lined sphinx #moth has found safe dry spot mostly sheltered from the wind. Tomorrow is forecast to be much wetter so it would be wise to stay there til Friday when the weather should be much improved.
#invertes San Diego north county 🦋

One green and one yellow caterpillar on a host plant eating leaves and yellow flowers.

A yellow caterpillar on a host plant eating leaves and yellow flowers. When they eat the flowers they will turn yellow.

Two green and one yellow caterpillar on a host plant eating leaves and yellow flowers.

A bloom stalk of a plant in the senna family has yellow flowers that are tasty to the caterpillars of Cloudless sulfur butterflies. This stalk has two yellow caterpillars and one green one.

Some days I can’t find any sulfur caterpillars on the popcorn cassia host plant, this morning I see 10 plus without trying 😅
#invertes 🦋 Southern California

A brand new monarch butterfly has its wings spread horizontally. Black veins separate the orange areas of the wings.

A monarch butterfly has its wings closed as it hangs on the outside of a black mesh cage preparing to fly for the first time.

Almost forgot! #10 for this year!

1- a good looking male, on the inside exercising his wings. Notice the two scent dots on the hind wings.

2- on the outside found final warmup before taking flight.

#invertes Monarch butterfly
Western population
First flight

A brand new monarch butterfly is hanging wings down from the inside top of the mesh cage that protected it as a caterpillar from predators.

#9 this year patiently waiting as its wings finish drying now that they are fully formed after being folded up tight in a chrysalis for weeks. It’s a nice day for release, sunny and not windy. Lantana is blooming nicely just beyond the back fence.
#invertes 🦋

A brand new monarch butterfly is resting on a host plant preparing to fly.

A brand new monarch butterfly is resting on the side of a protective cage preparing to fly.

Two orange, black, and white monarch butterflies are in the warm sun on the outside of the cage they developed in. Moments later they both flew off.

Checking on the Monarchs this morning.

1- #7 this year getting ready for flight

2- #8 ‘How do I get outta here?’

3- final countdown, go when you are ready!

#invertes monarch butterfly
Western population

footnote: they’re off! Fly far, little ones! 🦋🦋

A brand new monarch butterfly resting on a milkweed bloom in a cage.

A brand new monarch butterfly resting on the inside wall of a mesh cage that protects it from predators as a caterpillar. It is ready to fly.

A sulfur Butterfly caterpillar has turned yellow from eating the yellow blooms of its host plant. Good camouflage.

A small yellow caterpillar is eating the inside of a bloom from its host plant. The bloom is not quite open yet but enough for the caterpillar to get inside. On the green outside of the bloom that is not open yet there is a tiny white egg deposited by a female Cloudless sulfur Butterfly.

Checking on the various stages of butterflies in the yard today.

1- Monarch #5 in protective cage resting on host plant

2- #6 giving clear signals it’s ready to fly

3- good size Cloudless sulfur cat blending with host blooms

4- smaller cat inside a bloom and a tiny egg on the outside

#invertes

A slightly wrinkled and not well formed monarch butterfly is preparing for the transition from being a caterpillar to a flying butterfly.

A brand new monarch butterfly is now fully formed and ready to fly into the January skies. It walks upside down inside a protective cage just before being released. Fly far, little one.

Monarch #4 this year.

1- 10:30am today

2- 1pm today , fore and hind wings fully formed. She’s ready to fly!

#invertes western population

A newly emerged Orange, black with white spots monarch butterfly has wings spread wide as it warms up in the sun waiting to be released.

A monarch butterfly has just emerged from its chrysalis and is hanging by its feet from the top of a protective cage. The wings are still a little wrinkly but they are hanging down and almost full size as the butterfly pumps fluid from the abdomen into the wings to to fill them out to normal size. The wings will dry and stiffen ready for flight in a couple hours.

I believe these are #3 & #4 brand new Monarch Butterflies for 2026!

1- female looks ready to fly. Indeed, she zoomed off after being placed outside the protective cage.

2- more recently emerged, this one is still a bit wrinkly and needs more time to dry. Chrysalis is nearby.

#invertes butterfly

An empty yellow butterfly chrysalis is attached to a branch of a small host plant. A few green leaves are seen around the chrysalis. A new butterfly has emerged.

Evidence that one of the 2-3 Cloudless sulfur butterflies flitting around their host plant is a newbie! An empty split open chrysalis is attached to a branch of the Popcorn cassia in the backyard. #invertes 🦋

A a very green mantis maneuvering down a shrub branch.

Doing some shrub trimming when I noticed this looking at me with those big alien eyes 👽
Mantis #invertes

A honeybee is resting on a light yellow bloom petal, the hooks at the end of its legs are clasping the edges of the petals for a good grip in case of wind.

This honeybee found a secure spot to sleep during the chilly overnight (41°).

#invertes

Five light green chrysalises are hanging in a cage as the butterflies inside develop.

A Monarch caterpillar is eating a leaf from its host plant, a milkweed.

A sunny orange cup shaped bloom on a native mallow bush looks inviting on a cloudy day.

A pinkish purple bloom on a native rose plant has a bright yellow center. The small bloom has five petals.

There are a few things in the yard that seem out of sync with January 2026.

1- five of 11 Monarch chrysalids in a protective cage

2- 1 of several caterpillars also in cage

3- our Palmer’s Indian mallow blooming

4- Small-leaf rose (Rosa minutifolia) blooming

#nativeplants
#invertes SoCal

A caterpillar has its head buried in a hole that it chewed in a green bloom bud on its host plant. The caterpillar is yellow due to eating the blooms on the host plant. The bloom petals are yellow.

A Cloudless sulfur caterpillar has its head inside a bloom bud of its host plant. It is hollowing out one of many buds on this plant. I think this one may have recently switched to the yellow blooms from the green leaves as the dark ring stripes still show.

#invertes 🦋 🌿

A caterpillar of a Cloudless sulfur Butterfly has turned yellow from eating the yellow blooms of its host plant. The caterpillar is curled up inside of the petals of the bloom.

Yum yum yum, popcorn 🍿

An all yellow Cloudless sulfur caterpillar is munching away on the tasty blooms of its host plant Popcorn cassia - in the senna family. 🦋

Indeed, the foliage of this small tree/shrub smell like buttered popcorn when rubbed.
#invertes

A butterfly with black wings trimmed with gold is drinking at an oriole feeder that has sugar water in it.

From the archive, June 2019

A Mourning Cloak butterfly has a sweet tooth, err, proboscis.

Sugar water feeder - not just for hummingbirds and orioles!

#invertes