Tuesday, September 13, 2016

From Caterpillar to Chrysalis

What a scare we had Sunday when we spent the afternoon at the Botanical Garden! We came home to a few caterpillars in the aquarium where once there had been many - eek!

Sometime during the afternoon several of the naughty things decided they were done eating and ready to scout out a good place for their metamorphosis. I hadn't put the lid on the aquarium yet. We found a few on the underside of the table, two in the impatiens plants sitting beside the aquarium, and sadly two were in cobwebs under the furniture and had been killed by spiders.

You can bet we put in fresh milkweed for the younger caterpillars and then made sure the lid was on. Tight.


Hours later we had several J's hanging about. The caterpillars sealed their posteriors to a hard surface and hung curled upside down. Since then, every time we've checked there have been new chrysalises. 

Did you know the word "chrysalis" originates from their beautiful metallic or golden sheen? That's true for monarchs!


So -  the official count as of today is: 13 chrysalises, all still green with gold spots, and 3 who came late to the party and are still small caterpillars!


Is it weird that I am so excited about this?

11 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you, I'll continue to update on the progress :)

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  2. They are beautiful. This is very cool

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  3. OMD, you are growing your own Buttie Pillars!!!
    Isn't it funs…….and those Monarch chrysalises have that beautiful gold thread on them.
    Oh I am soooooo excited fur you, can't wait until the hatch
    (Dad says they can hatch really quickly so watch out)
    Loves and licky kisses
    Princess Leah xxx

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    1. Yes it's like little jewels and then they turn black and shiny like onyx. The other chrysalises we saw at the Butterfly house looked more camouflaged like leaves and even bird droppings! But the monarch chrysalis is really beautiful.

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  4. it is like magic somehow and I wish I could watch more this litte "wonders" in our garden :o)

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    1. I agree, it is like magic. You know things are happening in there because occasionally the chrysalis will quiver.

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  5. It is not at all weird! I remember your posts last year about the Monarchs. It's like a miracle!!!! I wish that I could get milkweed to grow on our land. I've tried and tried but it doesn't even germinate :( So, I have to watch the miracle via your blog!

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    1. There are many varieties of milkweed. I have two - swamp milkweed (pink flowers) and a tropical milkweed (orange flowers, narrower leaves). The monarchs ignore the tropical, only want the swamp type :D I hope the first group will hatch before we leave Sept. 25. Our daughter and son-in-law may have to babysit the second group.

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  6. i'm excited too! it's fascinating to see the process. what happened to the caterpillars under your table?
    wags, bailey unleashed

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