What a difference a day makes! On my way out the door to work this morning I detoured to check the progress of the monarch caterpillar and discovered it still dangling upside down, deciding how to get rid of its skin. When I returned late this afternoon, I found the caterpillar had redressed itself in this beautiful chrysalis!
“The chrysalis of the Monarch… looks like a jade earring. Near the light green top, an elegant band of gold is underscored with a thin black line. More highlights of gold decorate the bottom half. No one fully understands the purpose of this glitter. Perhaps the pupae gleam to warn off predators. Perhaps their reflectance camouflages them in the light and dark of a sunlight branch. They may be trying to look like metallic beetles. They may be imitating raindrops.” – Sharman Apt Russell, An Obsession with Butterflies
YAY!
Aren’t they beautiful? I’m glad you got to discover one.
Awesome!
Wow, that is so cool!
Laura,
I just followed you back from one of the comments you left, and I’m so glad I did. This is such a wonderful blog. I will visit often.
I’m glad you found the monarch and I love Peeper. When my son was a child he had a Dutch rabbit he named Playboy (he had heard of Playboy bunnies but had no idea what they were)and we quite fell in love with him.
Isn’t something totally magical about the metamorphosis of Butterflies.
Never ceases to amaze me.
Wow! That is really cool! I’m glad you’re seeing this process – and capturing it for us to see.
A beautiful set of photos! So glad that you found one in this state.
And just so that you don’t think I am too fussy, I was not deadheading moonbeam, but a plant with large flowers!
Simply wonderful! We’re so lucky you’re so observant and so good with your camera. I’ve never seen a monarch crysalis in the wild. Thanks for sharing.
I think it’s so pretty and go out to the garden a few times a day just to look at it!
That is beautiful!