Tiny Guy Update

Tiny Guy is now metamorphosing into a butterfly, privately, within its jade cloak. Here he/she is less than two days before giving up the exclusive milkweed diet and life as an Earthbound caterpillar. In the 17 days it took to hatch from the pearly egg on the underside of a milkweed plant to the jewel-like chrysalis presently hanging in the Monarch's rearing tower, Tiny Guy has been a unique presence in our home. An eating/pooping/growing machine has now withdrawn to transform itself into an ephemeral-looking winged insect that will fly almost 3,000 miles, winter over in chilly Mexican mountains and begin the journey back several months later. Assuming he/she escapes storms, predation, fatigue and disease. Every Monarch you see on the wing around this time of year is probably heading South to join millions of other Monarchs in their great migration. Tiny Guy will join them on or around September 16th.

Emergence Continued...

Here's a little montage I slapped together while playing in Photoshop...trying to get the emergence sequence in order. Not sure if I was successful or not :/
hmmm...guess I need to redo the writing with the Text tool...my hand writing looks like I've been drinking !
Click anywhere on the picture to get a better look at the butterfly :>

Emergence !

The first caterpillar we collected from wild milkweed in our yard, on the 19th of August, emerges from its jade and gold chrysalis September 1st, Labor Day. Click on the picture to enlarge it...and check out the intricate structures that were created inside the chrysalis...amazing !
It was a perfect day to enter the world on wings...warm and sunny with jsut the lightest breeze.

Glorious Milkweed Community !

Here's a fantastic stand of milkweed...perhaps Purple Milkweed...it is just now blooming, and the "classic" milkweed is way into pod-dom already. This stand is in a meadow in Bluemont, Virginia. The landowner carefully mowed around the milkweed when he bush-hogged his acres in May, at the special request of his wife. This month it has been full of Swallowtails, Monarchs, bees and a variety of insects. Smells great too!

Praying Mantis

And now for something completely not Monarch-related.
This spring-green Praying Mantis really stood out against the pink of the Autumn Joy sedum. And even though she was busy finishing off a Bumblebee meal, she didn't seem to mind my intrusion too much. I've seen lots of Mantids this year, and more Grasshoppers than I've ever seen...all kinds of them. I'm now wishing I'd kept track of all the kinds there are ! I wonder what set of conditions converged to give them such an advantage this year ?

Tiny Guy's 6th day as a caterpillar

While changing out the old milkweed stems for fresh ones , I had an opportunity to get a photo of Tiny Guy. 6 days out of the egg. Seriously cute at this stage.

Another caterpillar went Chrysalis yesterday afternoon. But first I rescued it from the inside of a big milk bottle that was holding the new milkweed stems....and lots of water ! The caterpillar's front antenna were dangling in the water...there it was, adhered to the damp glass sides by most of its feet...a sticky substance gluing the feet to the bottle. I ran outside and found a long twig that I slipped between its legs and applied a little bit of pressure so that it would have to push back on and hopefully cling to the twig. I waited until it had backed up a segment or two and then very gently pulled it up and away from a watery grave ! Whew ! After a brief rest the cat went on "walkabout" and found a better site on the wire of the rearing tower ( the cage ). We'll be moving the 3 chrysalids in the next day or so, and we've got two more to go !
Today it's about 65 degrees and lightly rainy...awful butterfly weather...I'm hoping we have some good, warm sunny days to release ours out into.

Tiny Guy

We thought this little one had died. But here he is, Tiny Guy, on his 4th day of life ! After paper-clipping a piece of the birth leaf ( with him on it ) to a fresher younger milkweed stem, he disappeared for a whole day. Was there something on the new stem that sickened the little guy...a virus or bacteria ? But this afternoon, there he was ...very still ( dead ? ) but sporting a new look...tiny stripes on a less transparent body. Then, a few hours later we noticed a little hole in the leaf, right next to the caterpillar with some telltale latex sap leaking out from the ragged ( nibbled ) edges....proof that he was eating ! This one is in his 2nd instar...he will shed his skin a total of 5 times before transforming to a chrysalis.

The second fully grown caterpillar is on 'walk-about'....cruising the whole cage for a secure spot to carry out its final metamorphosis. This is where I feel the most conflicted about collecting and caging them....there is no way I can provide exactly what it is they are looking for...I can only try and anticipate what a creature so different from me might need.
And this is where the intensive 3 day workshop with Monarch Teacher Network, that I took several weeks ago, really pays off. A total immersion in all that is Monarch for 3 days. They do this through games, books, films, sharing stories, a field trip and probably most importantly...lots of actual eggs, caterpillars and adult Monarchs to gain hands-on experience. Complete respect, even reverence, are practiced in the handling of every stage of the butterfly...from egg to wing. And all carried out with great humor and understanding. I am still in awe of their mission and commitment.

We will release "our" butterflies as soon as they emerge and their wings have stiffened up enough to begin their incredible journey South to Michoacan, Mexico.