Look who decided to rest on a nasturtium leaf

What an unusual sight - this plump little monarch caterpillar was resting on the leaf of a small nasturtium plant growing next to the base of one of the larger milkweed pots.

It must have crawled out of one of the milkweed pots, down to the ground and up the nasturtium plant, which is about three inches high. It might have gone there to morph into its current instar which looks like the third or fourth.

I plucked the leaf with its stem and tucked it with its caterpillar passenger safely between the thick stalks of a narrow leaf milkweed plant. There are a lot of healthy leaves to eat in this "forest".

Hopefully all goes well for this little one.