Just Emerged Monarch 2654
Here's another installment in my Monarch Butterfly story. You might remember I posted my first pupa, hanging low in a Pride of Madeira, over a month ago. It finally emerged 32 days later, way after the slew of those hanging in my garage eaves. So I post this certainly not for the esthetics with all the busyness and shadows and highlights, but because it is #1. Of note, the timing here is just about 2.5 minutes from when I spotted the first crack in the pupa. Especially, though, I like that it shows how kinked up the wings are from being tightly wrapped. I find it interesting too that the rear wings - the lighter (bottom side) color at the right, straighten out first, while it takes quite a bit longer for the larger forewings. You can actually see how the right forewing has straightened out a little more than the left. Fascinating stuff. She emerged pretty late in the afternoon, so she hung all night and didn't fly till the next morning. I'm guessing it took her a lot longer to emerge because she was in shade almost entirely all day long and maybe not as warm as the ones hanging in the protection of the garage eaves.
Just Emerged Monarch 2654
Here's another installment in my Monarch Butterfly story. You might remember I posted my first pupa, hanging low in a Pride of Madeira, over a month ago. It finally emerged 32 days later, way after the slew of those hanging in my garage eaves. So I post this certainly not for the esthetics with all the busyness and shadows and highlights, but because it is #1. Of note, the timing here is just about 2.5 minutes from when I spotted the first crack in the pupa. Especially, though, I like that it shows how kinked up the wings are from being tightly wrapped. I find it interesting too that the rear wings - the lighter (bottom side) color at the right, straighten out first, while it takes quite a bit longer for the larger forewings. You can actually see how the right forewing has straightened out a little more than the left. Fascinating stuff. She emerged pretty late in the afternoon, so she hung all night and didn't fly till the next morning. I'm guessing it took her a lot longer to emerge because she was in shade almost entirely all day long and maybe not as warm as the ones hanging in the protection of the garage eaves.