I have some monarch chrysalids now. This is my newest monarch chrysalis. If you open a moth cocoon (cocoons are what moths spin), you will find the skin it shed inside the cocoon. If you have a pre-pupa that spins a chrysalis, it will shed its skin outside the chrysalis. On these pictures, you can see some bright colors on this monarch chrysalis. This one has fallen off of a stick that I put in my bug pavilion. If you look close, you can see this pupa's wings. On another chrysalis I have you can even see orange.

butterflies at the museum

We visited the nature museum yesterday and went into the special butterfly room. The top picture is of a zebra butterfly. We don't know what the other two are.

monarch caterpillars cocooning

The top picture is a caterpillar fully hardened - it's a chrysalis. The lower picture is a different monarch caterpillar hanging upside down, getting ready to be a hardened chrysalis. I hatched both of these from eggs I found.

Painted Lady 2nd Instar

Most of my painted lady caterpillars are on their second instar. This caterpillar (above) is also in its second instar.

This video and picture are of a painted lady caterpillar at 60x magnification. This is one of the many hatchlings from when my painted lady butterflies laid eggs. I probably have 45 of them. I have them in the same rearing container that my painted lady caterpillars came in.I gave them some thistle leaves. I probably have enough thistle to feed them.

Monarch Caterpillar Shedding Skin & 5th Instar Monarch Caterpillar

The top picture is of an energetic monarch shedding its skin at the same time. I know it's shedding because it has a yellow head.

The bottom picture another monarch caterpillar that is in its 5th instar. If I were the dime, I'd be scared - it's a big one.

I hatched them from eggs I found on milkweed - one at my house, one at my park.

Releasing Painted Ladies

Yesterday I released my painted lady butterflies. Before we released them, they laid lots of eggs. The eggs are in a cup with plastic wrap over it. When all of them hatch I'm going to put them in a "suitable rearing container." I probably have enough thistle to supply them when they hatch.

Monarch Caterpillar Feet

These are pictures of a monarch caterpillar. The close up pictures of the feet are at 60x. The top picture is 10x. This caterpillar is probably a 4th instar.

Some of my painted lady butterflies hatched from their chrysalides. Some hatched today and some hatched yesterday. They hatched into beautiful painted lady butterflies!

monarch butterfly

We took both of these pictures at a park. When it's drinking nectar, its proboscis wobbles. The proboscis is like a tongue. It is like a straw for sucking the nectar out of the plant. I can tell this is a male because his veins are thin. Female's veins are bigger. If you look close enough on a male, you can see it has two dots, one on each lower wing.