There is nothing like seeing your first caterpillar emerging from the chrysalis stage. I literally felt like a very proud mamma. Watching him come out slowly to reveal his beautiful wings was a sight to behold. I have to say, now that I have reared a dozen of them, I am hooked for life. I even have a large stand of milkweed that I am allowing to grow to assist in sustaining them throughout the life cycle.
Breaking Out!
After 12 days in the chrysalis stage, this young male has decided to emerge.
Pumping Fluid Into Wings
Now that he has fully emerged he will hang here for a couple of hours. He now pumps fluid from his abdomen into his wings which fills them out to their normal size.
Still Pumping Fluid
You can see here in this picture how his abdomen is sliming down as the wings continue to expand.
Almost Expanded
In this photo, you can see that the wings are almost their full size. Note also, that the color of the wings are not as intense as when he first emerged.
Hanging Out To Dry
The Monarch's wings are fully extended at this point. Almost 2 hours have passed and he will continue to hang here to allow his wings to thoroughly dry. When he begins to open and close his wings, over and over again, he is almost ready to release.
A Tripple Birthing
This happened on another day not too long after my first caterpillar hatched. It was so fun to see them all come out together.
Getting Acquainted
It is time to say goodbye to my first butterfly. This was a bittersweet moment as I walked him out to the butterfly garden to feast on some Zinnias.
Taking Cover
As soon as I placed him onto the Zinnia he immediately climbed to the underside of the flower. He stayed there for approximately one hour before he decided to climb back on top. It was only moments later that he flew from flower to flower checking out his surroundings.
Male Monarch
I wanted to share with you how I know that my first butterfly was a male. In this photo, you can see two distinct black dots near the abdomen on the lower wings. This always indicates that the Monarch is a male.
Thank you so much for taking a moment to enjoy my series on rearing Monarch butterflies. If you happened to miss the series you can see the process from egg-gathering to release.
Part 1 - Egg - 2nd Instar
Part 2 - 3rd-5th Instar
Part 3 - Transformation to Chrysalis
Thank you @kona for initiating this #dailypetphotography challenge.
Until next time, this is Sunscape...
Sun. Scape. Ing your day
