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Weekly Puzzler #73

So as I write it is Thursday morning (though this won’t get published until Saturday) and I sit at my desk while the rain falls gently outside and the hummingbirds zip wildly around my window feeder. Every few minutes I glance off to my side, looking at a small table where I have two leaves with their stems dipped in shallow water. I found them in a field recently and brought them home. (I will tell you more about this next week.) While I work, I am watching them closely, paying particular attention to the two yellowish, elliptical structures on them. I am  waiting…. waiting…. waiting… hoping I’ll happen to notice when they start to change. Wow, the thought fills me with excitement!

Here’s what those structures look like–there is one on each leaf. guess--3

This is the puzzler for this week, and I realize it may be rather impossibly challenging, but keep reading to find a hint. Any guesses what this is? And why I’m so interested in watching it so carefully? It is SUPER tiny, as you can see here, when I photograph it with a dime beside it. I had a hard time getting a decent picture of it, even with my macro lens and closeup filters.

guess--2

It might help if I told you it is on the underside of a leaf from a plant called Milkweed. Milkweed is called this because its sap is a milky, white liquid.

IT IS A VERY SPECIAL PLANT (though many people–including some who work in nurseries– are unaware of this, too influenced by the word WEED in the plant’s name. I aim to change the negative opinion about this plant–one person at a time, starting with YOU!)

…. I’ll tell you why next week. Here’s one more picture.

guess-

What is this? CLICK HERE to see if your guess was correct.  Until then, have a wonderful weekend!

3 thoughts on “Weekly Puzzler #73

  1. I would have to guess that this is the solitary egg of a Monarch butterfly on the underside of a milkweed plant.

    1. Sharon Mammoser says:

      Yes, and you would be correct! You do seem to know all of the answers to these Weekly Puzzlers!

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