I am always sorry for end of autumn monarchs.   I have plenty of swan
plants for them but as it becomes colder the caterpillars get slower.  
The butterflies vanish and the handful of remaining catterpillars
struggle to eat enough to turn inco cocoons.  There's nothing I can
do.   I did rescue a couple when I saw they were hanging on branches
trying to spin cocoons with their cold little legs and mouths.

I brought them inside into the warmth and hung them from a big fern in
the corner of the lounge.   It worked. They spun their cocoons quite
quickly. I forgot about them until I saw the cats batting somthing on
the fern.   You guessed it!   Poor Monarchs - the Gods were really
against them.  I had arrived in time though.  I removed the terrorists
and watched as the butterfly pumped up its wings.  I love this process
and always regard it as a minor miracle.  The caterpillar emerges with
small wings and a fat tum. It literally pumps its wings up to
full size - takes about half an hour.  If it falls off its perch during
that time its had it.   The wings become permanently crumpled and won't
expand.

Sadly, neither of these Monarchs will make it.   For some reason their
wings had imperfections - not bad, but enough to stop them flying
properly.  The cold had inhibited them.  I put them onto a sweetly
scented winter flowering plant in a sheltered part of the garden
Perhaps when the sun gets up they can drink the nectar.   It's not a
good idea to interfere with the natural cycle of things!  But the cats
enjoyed it :)
 
--
Bev
The email of the species is more deadly than the mail.