Monarchy

An unusually dark Monarch caterpillar found at that little wonderland of wildness, Brooklyn Bridge Park. The place was full of standard-colored Monarchs about two weeks earlier. This one was the only one seen on a more recent visit. It’s late, but probably not too late. Nearby, I found the remains of a pupa.

Also found on the milkweeds were these tiny orange things.

I wondered at first if they might be eggs. But they moved. They are milkweed aphids, also known as oelander aphids, Aphis nerii.