Monarch butterflies are very beautiful insects. They are well known for their bright orange and black colors. Monarch butterflies start out as monarch caterpillars. The caterpillars only feed on milkweed plant, which helps protect them from other creatures.

Clarkston Family Farm Caterpillars
This summer, my family and I went to the Clarkston Family Farm to get four caterpillars because my sister Regan loves bugs. After we got the caterpillars, we went to pick up Regan from school, to surprise her and her class. Regan and her classmates loved them so much. Before we got home, we stopped to get milkweed for the caterpillars. When we got home, the caterpillars had already eaten all the old milkweed, so we changed it for the new milkweed.

Caterpillars turn into cocoons
Once we got our caterpillars home, it took about three days before they spun their cocoons, which is like a sleeping bag for them. The caterpillars use their cocoons to change into something new – butterflies!! Monarch caterpillars stay in their cocoons for ten to fourteen days before hatching.

Cocoons hatch into butterflies
After about ten days, our four caterpillars hatched from their cocoons. We now had four beautiful Monarch butterflies! They were so pretty. Once they hatched, we waited until my sisters Audrey and Regan got home, then we released all four of the Monarch butterflies and they flew away.