Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: DAILY PICTURES # 110, 1 by vitrsna

vitrsna wrote:
The December group of engaging Monarch caterpillars began eclosing yesterday, the 3rd of January. This morning, i observed 12 Monarchs eclosing within a one hour period which averages one Monarch every 5 minutes :-).

The 1st photo is the butterfly just out of the chrysalis outside under the patio table

The 2nd is a pre-flight Monarch on the Senecio confusus

The 3rd is a group photo of the pre-flight Monarchs located under the patio table on what i call the butterfly jungle gym (really a shelf from some organizer modular unit). I put this under the patio table when the caterpillars begin to pupate. Sometimes the caterpillars will find it in their search for a safe place to pupate, or travel to the base of the table close to the underside of the table top. Generally i've noticed that caterpillars are quite clever in choosing their places to pupate. When i have time, and after a group has formed chrysalises outside, i will check to see who might be located in a place that is particularly vulnerable to predators (like the Areca palms and the Jatrophas). The day after the chrysalis is formed in one of these places (when the chrysalis is mature and hardened), i will relocate the chrysalis and tie it to the jungle gym. Then i will move the jungle gym, with maybe 9 or 10 chrysalises into the house until a day before the first ones are expected to eclose when i move the jungle gym back out to the patio and place it under the table. Always there remains a group of chrysalises outside on various vegetation and structures...some that i can see and some that i don't know about. I don't always go through this process, occasionally i do. It seems like just about everyone with a butterfly garden has his or her own method. This is just the way i do it, with minimal interference in the natural process.

The 4th photo is of a Monarch who has just completed her first flight and is exercising her wings.