I Missed Another One

I had just walked in the door from a trip to WV and I glanced over to check out the cacoons while I put my computer bag down and this is what I saw!  I bet I didn't miss it by 10 seconds.  By my calculations, it came a few days early.

And we have another girl!  I think her name will be Beauty.  So now we have had a Freda, a Poppy, and now a Beauty.

I saw this on the Internet one day when I was looking for information.  NEXT YEAR!!!  Can you imagine how cool that could be?  Mark thinks I am nuts!

Caterpillars, Pupas, Butterflies Everywhere

We are still waiting for butterfly number two.  Should be any day!  And number three is not too far behind!

And tomorrow morning when I wake up we will have two more chrysalides.  So keeping my fingers crossed that this year we will be able to release 5 Monarch butterflies!  And we are already planning for next year!

Looking At The Small Stuff

The dew looked like diamonds in the grass.

An elf umbrella.

And then there is this little momma with an egg sack I am guessing.  Anyone know what kind of spider this is?  I'm guessing a wolf spider.

She's A Beauty

Our first butterfly release!

I did a little more research.  Mark asked if it was a male or a
female butterfly.  Female!  You want to know how I know.

We named her Freda.

We Have Given Birth

Craziness!  I bet I have checked this cacoon 9 million times.  I've read what to look for.  I know the stages. I knew we were getting close.  And this happened literally in front of me this afternoon while I was feeding a baby.  I checked to see if we had a clear cacoon.  Nope, it was black as night.

Next thing I know there are antennae out!

So I am trying to get to my phone and the camera all at the same time while feeding a baby a bottle.

Finally, which seemed like years, I handed off Levi to Mark and began shooting with both hands.  I was afraid I would miss something.  Didn't want to take time to adjust for lightening and such.  Just wanted to capture the moment.

The wings are wet and still folded.

I couldn't wait.

Just hanging waiting for his wings to completely dry.

Butterfly #1 ready for release tomorrow afternoon.

Cacoon #2 getting ready.  I hope he waits until I get up in the morning.  Tonight it looks so close.

And Here We Go

Came home from church to see this big change.  I can see a butterfly!

The Creatures Are Amazing

I have been amazed with the changes that happen literally overnight!

An update on the first caterpillar to turn into a chrysalis.  She is just hanging around waiting to break free and spread her wings.

Number two that was found on a hike last weekend.  The little gold dots are turning more golden.

Can you see the caterpillar at the lower that center on the right?  This is caterpillar number three.  But first, a little background research I have done.  

Monarch butterflies generally lay their eggs on the underside of a leaf.  The easiest way to find some eggs is to go to a milkweed patch.  Watch to see where the butterflies land.  When you see one that hangs around for a few days check the underside of the leaf or on the flower buds.  There is a chance you might find an egg or two.

Once you find eggs or caterpillars, bring them inside and put them in an indoor caterpillar home.  Someone told me to pick some of what they were eating and freeze the leaves until I needed them.  Make sure to leave them a water supply and clean the habitat daily because there will be lots of frass...AKA...caterpillar poop.

In about two weeks the egg will hatch and the caterpillar will be ready to pupate. 

When the Monarch caterpillar gets ready to pupate it will spin some silk and hang upside down in a J shape.  He was in a J but I bumped the table trying to get a pic.  He will stay there for about 24 hours.

Shortly before the final molt happens he will straighten out.  And within an hour or so the caterpillar will shed its exoskeleton and develop into a pupa.  

For the next few hours, the pupa will turn a jade color with little dots of gold trim.  The chrysalis will stay like this for about 2 weeks.  24 hours before the butterfly appears the chrysalis will first turn dark and then become transparent.  So before it breaks out we should be able to see the butterfly wings inside the chrysalis.  Usually, this happens in the early morning.  So you know I will be up at the butt crack of dawn checking it out.

When the butterfly emerges it will have crumpled wings and will first pump them to dry them.  There should be plenty of room for them to stretch and form their wings.  It may take a few hours for them to get ready to fly. Then we will free them in the backyard where I found the first two caterpillars.

So now we sit and wait and count down the days.

Caterpillar Update

While out hiking last weekend we ran into some Monarch caterpillars!

They survived the ride home.

And there are a whole bunch of tiny ones that you can't see.  We are now officially on caterpillar/butterfly watch.

And Today We Have...

a Monarch Chrysalis!

According to what I have read we should see a Monarch butterfly in about 10-14 days.  A release date would be around Sept 11-15.  I hope it hatches while the yahoos are here so we can release it together.  How cool would that be?

Next stage we are looking for is a clear or transparent shell.  We should be able to see the dark colors of the butterfly wings folded up inside.  The hatching happens fairly quickly.  Then wa-la you have a butterfly.