Our Monarch Butterfly Hatched Today
I wrote about our Monarch Butterfly nursery recently and today was the big day.
The first chrysalis opened and the new butterfly emerged. We didn’t get to see the butterfly coming out but saw it only moments after the big event. As you can see in this photo the wings are still rather wrinkled.
The butterfly fell down on the patio but fortunately I was able to hold out a small stick and it latched on. I moved it onto a pot of purple flowers so it could finish drying its wings. What a relief – I’m glad we were there to rescue it!
Here's the vacant chrysalis.
It started moving around on the flowers and was clearly sipping some nectar. It took about 2 hours total from when it emerged from the chrysalis, but we were able to enjoy seeing the Monarch fly off!
What a treat to watch this entire process unfold from when the eggs were first laid until adulthood and first flight.
By the way the butterfly was a female – I did some research to find out how you can tell. Females do not have the 2 blacks spots on either side of the body at the bottom, and the black veins on the wings are wider.
There is another chrysalis that looks like it’s getting close to the hatching moment, too. We’re hopeful!
We watched a very cool movie tonight, Beauty on the Wing, on PBS that chronicles the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly.
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