JIM DAMASKE | Times
A monarch caterpillar eats a milkweed leaf in a Clearwater yard Tuesday morning. The caterpillar will spend about two weeks eating before attaching itself to a leaf to start the metamorphosis process. The chrysalis phase lasts about 10 days. When the butterfly emerges, it will live two to six weeks, unless it is migrating, before laying eggs and starting the process again.