In polymer chemistry, polymerization is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks. There are many forms of polymerization and different systems exist to categorize them.
The thistle caterpillar is the larval stage of the painted lady butterfly. The adult insect migrates into Iowa each year from Texas and Mexico. Eggs are laid on both thistle and soybeans. The caterpillar is easily identified by the spines that resemble Christmas trees that have lost all their needles.
Feeding Caterpillars. 1  1. Find the caterpillar's host plant. A caterpillar's job is just to eat and eat and eat, so the most important part of caring for a caterpillar is to provide a constant supply of fresh food. 2  2. If you don't know what the host plant is, experiment with different types of leaves.