Yellowish-green and black and white striped, kind of plump and two to three inches long, the Monarch butterfly caterpillars just jumped out at me as I took a quick peek into the Butterfly, Bee and Beneficials (B3) garden. Well, I mean the caterpillars didn’t really jump out at me; in fact, the insects attracted to the B3 garden are by and large all safe, but the Monarch caterpillar’s colors did jump right out of the B3 garden plants.

The brilliant contrast of colors between the bright red and yellow Milkweed blossoms and the colorfully striped Monarch caterpillar—beautiful!

See link to caterpillar and B3 garden pictures here. It’s really a double bonus when you see the beauty of these plants adding color to a garden or yard, while at the same time feeling good that you’ve been providing essential habitat for beneficial insects like the Monarch caterpillar and others. –end— Dec 08 Duke

Obviously, the B3 garden is there to attract butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects. The B3 has drought tolerant plants with an increasing diversity of six-legged visitors, but it should attract you too.

Most of the plants are labeled and there is additional information posted about garden management. During daylight hours, folks are always welcome to take a closer at the garden in order to spot butterflies and beneficial wasps and flies.

Aside from all that, it’s just a nice little stop off the bike trail amongst an array of flowering plants. –end- Dec 08 Duke