The Making of a Queen

On a cold November day in 2020, I moved a Queen caterpillar indoors to save it from nighttime freezing temperatures. It was feeding on A. subulata (Desert Milkweed), so I replenished a stock of stems and flowers daily…

The next day the caterpillar became a chrysalis. Nine days later the chrysalis turned dark burgundy, and the following day a Queen was born.