Our second caterpillar in pupa form was placed outside in the event it would become a butterfly in our absence. It appear it wouldn’t be long as the outer layer was thinning.
One time when we returned to check on it, we found the exterior was transparent and the creature inside was black!
I set up a video camera and waited. This is a summary of the result.
Having discovered a monarch caterpillar on our milkweed, we moved it inside with some milkweed not only to protect it but to observe its complete transformation to a butterfly and then release it.
We watched as it spun silky thread to hang from upside down.
Then when we weren’t looking, it was a green chrysalis!
Since it wasn’t going to need any of the remaining milkweed I carefully prepared to clean out the container. I was surprised to find a tiny caterpillar had stowed away on some of the milkweed from the garden!
It was at this time we had a visit from our 2 youngest grand kids. They were intrigued with the chrysalis and enjoyed watching the hungry, little caterpillar grow by the day.
Meanwhile the chrysalis hanging from the top of the container had begun to change…
We knew it wouldn’t be long before the magic happened but we had a ‘game to catch’. On our return about an hour and a half later…
The gender marking was clear on his wings. It took about an hour for his wings to dry and he began to stretch. We carefully took him outside and gave him a chance to continue the ‘warm up before taking off’. After a quick ‘good bye’, he was gone.
Meanwhile the other caterpillar had been busy preparing for his or her next stage. It had already been hanging in the its ‘J’ shape and had started to shrivel up. We had been keeping a close eye throughout the day but while we eating dinner, it happened! We had just missed the skin falling off but caught the chrysalis in the wiggly, jiggly green blob stage.
We feel very blessed to have been able, in one week, to share the full cycle of this wonder of God’s creation with our grand kids! ❤
Three years ago we planted a single milkweed plant in our yard in hopes of attracting monarchs which aren’t common here. Apparently, they found our plant!
We carefully moved this chubby specimen to an appropriate container and provided it with ample milkweed to munch. Within a few days, it was ready to settle into a chrysalis attached to the roof (lid) of it’s temporary home. While we were cleaning out the no longer needed milkweed leaves, we found they were indeed needed! Another caterpillar had hatched!
Looking forward to the next stage of their life cycle.
A cool damp morning as the mist is chased by the sun, tiny insect webs are revealed.
Here’s a collage of just some of the wildlife caught with my camera last month.
Oh, yeah, did I mention I like to digital scrapbook, too?
Edit: Thanks to those of you who brought to my attention the errors in the initially posted graphic. Corrections have been made.
Karen Greaves Photography & Fibre Art 