Hi everybody,

I am just beginning to learn about caterpillar and butterfly identification and am in need of some help. I discovered this caterpillar on my bee balm last night. Everything that I have read indicates to me that it is a monarch caterpillar and not one of its impersonators (keep in mind that i am new at this). The part that has me confused is that my understanding is that monarch caterpillars only live on milkweed. I do have some milkweed growing in an effort to attract monarchs, however it is a considerable distance away from the bee balm. So if anybody can confirm the identity of this caterpillar and perhaps provide some insight into this and advice on what to do if it is actually a monarch, I would be very appreciative. I can provide more images if it would be helpful.

Thank you,
Amanda