Last week as I was picking vegetables for my CSA subscribers, I noticed a beautiful monarch caterpillar on a chili pepper plant. It was hanging upside down in a “J” getting ready to shed it’s skin and become a chrysalis. I carefully marked which branch it was on so I’d remember to use caution when watering or picking peppers.

I checked on it the next day. The caterpillar had shed it’s skin and was in the process of forming a chrysalis. In this stage, it is still soft and wiggly.

A few hours later, a perfect chrysalis hung disguised among the baby chili peppers. Once hatched, it will migrate south for the winter.