Yesterday I went up the street to the little milkweed patch near my house. I had been checking my garden milkweed and some other spots and had been coming up empty but not to be deterred, I went over to this little patch up the street. As I walked in to it, I noticed some fresh milkweed plants just pushing up from the other roadside weeds and the leaves were fresh and tender.
There were no signs of caterpillars – no frass, no chew marks, but I flipped a leaf….and there it was – small as a pin head yet huge in the life that it portends. From there I flipped more leaves and found a total of 3 eggs!
I entered these into Journey North site as my first egg sighting – so far those are the only ones entered for Loudoun but I know more are out there – so keep (or start) checking your milkweed. If you find any eggs or caterpillars let me know. I can talk you through how to raise them if you want or I can connect you with someone who is looking for a chance to do so.
If you do find eggs and caterpillars, please do enter your first of season sightings into the Journey North site. It’s important citizen science data.