Each year in mid August we start looking for signs of half-eaten milkweed along the roadside. When we find leaves that have been partially nibbled, chances are we’ll find Monarch caterpillars underneath.
We found this little guy on Saturday, August 26th.
August 28th – Still chomping. Still growing. Has eaten 4 milkweed leaves since we found him.
August 30st he crawled to the top of the container to hang in his "J" formation for a day.
You might think this caterpillar is no longer alive. His skin is looking pretty bad, and his antennae are shriveling. Actually, he is just minutes from shedding that skin and becoming a chrysalis.
On September 12th the chrysalis began to turn dark and you can see the markings of the butterfly through the paper thin chrysalis. It won't be much longer.
Our butterfly emerged on September 13th and after several hours of allowing his wings to dry...
Aaron set him free.
Wow. That's beautiful, Donna. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: stef | September 15, 2006 at 06:44 AM
Breathtaking, really! As I scrolled through them my 5yo dd was beside me absolutely mesmerised!I LOVE the last photo!
Posted by: Theresa | September 15, 2006 at 07:40 AM
Wonderful photos - wow!
Posted by: Jennifer | September 15, 2006 at 11:38 AM
What a FANTASTIC set of pictures! Thanks.
Posted by: Karen E. | September 15, 2006 at 12:42 PM
Beautiful, beautiful!!!
Thank you!
Posted by: Maria | September 16, 2006 at 10:24 AM
Amazing. Really, thank you so much for sharing this. We are enjoying the second surge of Monarchs right now.
Posted by: Jennifer | September 19, 2006 at 12:23 PM
Awesome!!
Posted by: Helene | September 21, 2006 at 04:19 PM
Thanks so much for sharing these, Donna! Amazing. Beautiful!!!
Posted by: Kristin | September 23, 2006 at 01:16 AM
So cool.
Did you get misty-eyed like I did the first time I saw a butterfly emerge?
Our God is an awesome all-powerful God; He truly is.
Posted by: Margaret in Minnesota | September 23, 2006 at 09:23 PM
What a beauty!
Posted by: Cay | September 25, 2006 at 03:03 PM