Two butterflies eclosed today exactly one month and one day from their start as an egg dropped off in my butterfly garden by a Lady Monarch
Take a look at last years video of a Monarch eclosing
Here's the first one of the day drying her wings
Both Girls
Both perfect! They have been eating honeydew melon nectar and will be kept a day or two before I let them go.
If you look closely in the picture you can see their two antennae with a thicker curl on the end and their thicker legs. You can also see the proboscis, which is a thin straw-like appendage coming out of the head and going right into the honeydew like a straw from which they sip the nectar.
I hope to have better pictures tomorrow. They could only eat so much while I was trying to photograph at the right angle to allow it to be seen. The proboscis unrolls out and then rolls back in when it is going to be in use.
Three more chrysalises are dark blue tonight and I will probably wake up to three more butterflies tomorrow morning.
I had one new chrysalis formed during the day today. The caterpillar crawled up to the top of the butterfly house and looked for a spot to make the silk to adhere itself to. It then hung inself in a "J" and waited until it was ready to make the chrysalis. The caterpillar actually splits its skin for its final molt before it forms the chrysalis.
Fat and ready cat hanging in the "J"
When it is ready to begin the next process the antennae droop as in the second "J" picture and the magic begins.
Tonight there are a few more cats hanging in a "J" and one cat searching for its spot. The rest of the cats are resting. Here is one day of Frass (poop) from only 8 cats. Imagine my cages last year when I had 10 times the amount of cats as I have this year. They had to be cleaned twice a day.
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