One sunny day, I noticed a caterpillar crawling purposefully from my flower bed and across my front porch (the very caterpillar visible in the video that opens this post). In a very few minutes, she’d reached one of the two windows flanking my front door and proceeded to climb. Eventually, after a bit of exploration, she decided that the window frame was a good place to pupate (aka as making her chrysalis). She spat some silk onto the window frame…
…and then turned around and firmly stuck her bottom end into the silk, waiting for the metamorphosis to begin.
In short order, she was firmly fixed to what would be her home for approximately the next two weeks.
Her body is beginning to form the classic “J” shape, which means that in about 24 hours she should become a chrysalis…
Finally, she is ready to complete the transformation.
Despite frequent checks, I managed to miss the change, but found her cast-off caterpillar suit on the door sill below.
This is what I missed:
But even without my supervision, she managed to become a beautiful chrysalis!
The former caterpillar now had ten to fourteen days to complete her transformation to her adult form. Thirteen days later, her chrysalis suddenly became as clear as glass, and her new body was revealed in all it’s glory. At this point, we knew the eclosure (fancy entomologist word that describes the process of an adult butterfly emerging from its chrysalis) was imminent, so my husband set up the camera on a tripod to catch the miraculous transformation.
Unfortunately, the camera’s battery died literally at the very beginning of her escape: The bottom of the chrysalis was just beginning to split open when the screen went black. Luckily, Neil Bromhall, an expert videographer, reveals what we missed on YouTube:
Our camera shy lady successfully eclosed, though, so that’s all that matters. For a while, she clung to the empty shell of her former skin, waiting for her body and wings to expand. I am always amazed that such a large creature can emerge from such a tiny package!
Her wings expanded quickly, but they were still soft and needed several hours to stiffen up. She decided to climb higher up on the window frame to wait until she was able to fly.
She apparently attempted a test flight and realized that it was too soon. Luckily she landed on the protective catch-net my hubby had built for her. At this point, she wisely decided to wait a bit longer before taking off again.
And take off she did! Several hours later, she flew into my garden to check out the offerings. If all goes well for her, she will soon join the annual Monarch migration, as they head south towards Mexico. Bon voyage, little butterfly!
I leave you for now with this cool fact:
“Most adult monarchs only live for about 5 weeks, and in that time, they look for nectar plants for food and milkweed to lay their eggs on. The last generation of monarchs born in the U.S. and Canada is the migratory generation known as ‘Methuselah.’ These monarchs delay sexual maturity in order to undertake the journey of fall migration down to their overwintering grounds in Mexico, lands that that generation of insects has never seen. In fact, this final Methuselah generation of Monarchs often lives up to 7 to 8 months. These monarchs know the correct path to migrate even though they themselves have never made the long journey. They are guided by an internal compass and knowledge—this mysterious navigation method is one of the many attributes that makes monarch butterflies such a spectacular species. Scientists have yet to figure out how they have continued to accomplish such a feat for so many generations.” (from Natural Habitat Adventures)
Enjoy the natural wonders of your own backyard!
Bromhall, Neil, United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Monarch butterfly emerging time lapse [Video]. YouTube . Accessed 28 August, 2022.
DeannaCat, All About Monarchs: How to Attract, Raise, & Release Monarch Butterflies. Homestead and Chill, 23 April, 2019. https://homesteadandchill.com/all-about-raising-monarch-butterflies/#:~:text=You'll%20know%20when%20a,colors%20show%20through%20even%20more. Accessed 28 August, 2022.
Gomez, Tony, Butterfly Birth…a Monarch Emerges from its Chrysalis! Eclose Encounters of the Monarch Kind: When a butterfly emerges from the chrysalis! Monarch Butterfly Life, August, 2022. https://monarchbutterflylifecycle.com/blogs/raise/hatching-butterflies-monarch-emerges-chrysalis/#PI. Accessed 28 August, 2022.
Miller, Samantha, Why the Monarch Butterfly Migration Is Mexico’s Top Natural Wonder. World Wildlife Federation Natural Habitat Adventures, 10 December 2021. https://www.nathab.com/blog/monarch-butterfly-migration-mexicos-top-natural-wonder/#:~:text=The%20journey%20from%20the%20U.S.,their%20northern%20migration%20in%20March. Accessed 28 August, 2022.
Preston, Elizabeth, What’s Wrong With Butterflies Raised in Captivity? New York Times, 8 April, 2020 (updated 15 December, 2020). https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/science/monarch-butterflies-captive.html. Accessed 28 August, 2022.
United States Fish and Wildlife Service. (21 August 20, 2015). Monarch Caterpillar Changing to Chrysalis [Video]. YouTube. Accessed 9 July, 2022.
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