I had several big Monarch caterpillars that disappeared off of the milkweed the other day. I found a chrysalis and two caterpillars that had attached themselves to the eastern side of my wooden fence. This side of the fence is next to an empty lot that will begin construction any day.. When I saw two other caterpillars heading that way, I moved them. One is now a chrysalis in a crepe myrtle. The other is a chrysalis in a jar I have in the house.

Anyway, I am curious about the caterpillars/chrysalis on the fence. Can they handle direct sunlight? The two caterpillars that attached themselves to the fence appear to be dead. That side of the fence gets direct sunlight most of the day. Can the chrysalis survive that? I'm not going to move them now. I have more eggs and tiny caterpillars on my milkweed. I will encourage them to become butterflies elsewhere if needed.