Welcome to Caterpillar Diaries, a website all about Monarch caterpillars and butterflies, designed especially for kids of all ages. I hope adults will enjoy it too!

People sometimes call me the Crazy Butterfly Woman. I love to learn about Monarchs and watch them go through all their life cycle stages in my garden. It amazes me how beautiful they are at every stage, and the changes they go through are so fascinating!

I especially love to photograph them up close (using a macro lens). Sometimes, I learn something new about Monarchs by looking at the photos much larger than real life on my computer screen – and hopefully you will too. I especially hope that teachers, and other people with an interest in butterflies, or the life cycle of insects in general, will find Caterpillar Diaries a resource they can use again and again.

Along with Stripy, my friendly cartoon caterpillar, we will take you on a journey of discovery, through photographs, detailed life-cycle information – including a caterpillar diary, “fun facts”, and updates on my butterfly garden.

Click below to see and learn about the monarch life cycle.