Howdy howdy. Two days ago I posted Part 1 of Milkweed, Caterpillars, and Pop Quiz. Thank you to Kelly and Brit for correctly answering that one of the caterpillars in this pic is a Monarch! The one on the leaf is a Monarch, and the one on the stem is a Queen. So, you may be asking, how does one tell the difference between a Queen and a Monarch caterpillar cause they sure do look a lot alike. Let’s talk a bit about how to tell them apart.
There are two easy ways to differentiate between them.
- They have the same coloring but, if you look closely, you can see that the color patterns are different.
- The easiest way to tell them apart is the Queen has three sets of antennae-like protuberances, and the Monarch has only two sets of them. On both of them, the protuberances on the head are actually antennae. The other ones are tentacles. How cool is that!
Here’s a pic of a Monarch which shows where the antennae-like protuberances are on its body: the antennae on its head and the tentacles on the other end. The Queen has an extra set of tentacles kinda in the middle of its body.
To end our caterpillar lesson for the day, here is what those beautiful caterpillars turn into:
Happy diggin’ in the dirt!
Jeanni and Ziva
Bella Jardins Boutique
Beautiful Gardens Begin Here
