Elizabeth!
That Monarch was one that I raised from an egg that I found on the back of a Milkweed leaf. I incubated it inside a small plastic covered dish with the bottom lined with a moist paper towel on a counter top in the mud room. It took about 4 days to see the small hole in the leaf where the caterpillar had hatched, eaten the shell of his egg casing and was feeding on the leaf. I moved him (yes, that one is a male) to a larger covered plastic container with milkweed leaves where I watched him grow as he feasted on new tender leaves that I provided him (and others with him) every day.
After about 2 weeks, he was large enough to put outside in a mesh covered Butterfly cage with cuttings of milkweed standing in a mason jar of water to preserve the freshness of the plant. Every morning I would replace the cuttings because those suckers feasted all night! Some 6 to 8 days later, their instincts and nature would cause them to crawl to the top of the cage where, after several hours, each would spin a web of silk and attach himself vertically, eventually shedding the outer skin and evolving as a green chrysalis (in the picture on the Glory Bush leaves that you generously gave a
AND
!
)
It would hang about 10 days, then turn a transparent black (you can see the color of the wings in the very short time) and then, the small butterfly will emerge, hanging on the shell of the chrysalis, turning himself (or herself) back and forth, from side to side, to dry the wings as a fluid is pumped into the paper-thin wings.
After they reach full size (about 15 to 20 minutes), the butterfly, still hanging on the spent chrysalis will then open and close its fully developed wings to insure they are dry. When it is ready to emerge from its protective environment, it will flutter about inside the cage. I then lift the edge and extend my hand and arm inside near the butterfly which will, without too much coaxing, crawl on my fingers as a transport to a brave new world! I take it out gently and put it on a sturdy limb of a bush, one hopefully with nectar-bearing flowers, where it will stay for another hour of so, becoming aware of the environment. Then, as if it has been given an electric jolt, it will generally fly straight up and out around to find a limb of a tree in the vicinity where it will light for a while. As it gains its 'footing', it will start seeking the most nourishing blooms and fluttering around the area attracting other butterflies of all varieties who play and feed and perch! Beautiful to watch, with great personal pride that I nurtured it from a tiny egg to a majestic example of God's infinite creation!
This is why I am so pleased that you like that particular capture. I had just put it on the Glory Bush to become oriented and he posed beautifully as if to say
And I say
for the
and for the
s. Oh, and I took your suggestion and learned well, I think, about the hashtags. Hopefully the Monarchs and the katydids can be found rather easily!! I really appreciate the headsup on that little jewel of a tip!
Hope your weather is as good for being outside with the plants as ours is today!
Tom
