Saturday, May 28, 2011

Butterfly Precursors, part two

A chrysalis hanging on some fence wire.
After noting the caterpillar hanging in preparation for his metamorphasis into a buterfly, on May 10th, I told myself to check back the next day to photograph the chrysalis. When I forgot to do this, I assumed I had missed the chrysalis stage--for some reason I thought the transformation was an overnight process. So, when I happened upon a chrysalis today (18 days later) I checked the spot where the first one had been forming, and Surprise! it is still a chrysalis.

When I was a girl we hatched out butterflies in jars in the house. I recalled thinking the transformation took forever, but I had thought the endless wait was because I had been young. Not so. Apparently making the transition from fat, striped caterpillar to beautiful tiger soallowtail butterfly does not happen overnight.

We shall have to check back to see when the butterfly emerges.

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