Here is the crysalis today. Shouldn't be too many more days til that beautiful butterfly emerges!
Monarch caterpillar
It's so much fun to watch them pupate and then watch them hatch out as butterflies. Amazing little creatures, aren't they?
Stacey: glad to hear yours made it. I was just wondering about whether it ever hatched. Yes, they are hardy little buggers.
Yep they are. It looks so small for a butterfly to emerge from.
Help, I have this thing in a jar in the florida room but it will hatch when I am at work (as nature would have it) so do I just sit it outside so it can fly off whenever?
set up a web cam,you can't miss it!
Oh CC, I wish I could! I thought about taking it to work but afraid it wouldn't survive the trip, or calling in sick until it hatches!
Take it to work...It's really tough! If it doesn't get banged around it'll be fine...I know what mine went through!
You've waited to long to miss it!!!
Oh no, another decision!
Just take it with you!! You'll be glad you did LOL
weeds: If you have it inside in a jar, make sure there is enough room in the jar for it to hang upside down and dry its wings. I usually put a stick or something in the container so it can hand from the stick. If there isn't enough room, the wings will dry improperly (they'll be crumpled and deformed) and it will die.
I just rescued 3 monarch caterpillars from the garden before the latest cold snap. They all have separate homes. I had to put one in a jar as I only had two hatcheries. Guess I should make a third! Ay, yay, yay!
Oh, I hope it has enough room. Gonna make some hatcheries soon so I wille be prepared. I don't want to birth a deformed monarch...
Take him with you to work and then you don't have to worry! He's a good bug, so people shouldn't mind too much.
How cold does it have to get to kill them?
I don't know how cold they can take it, but I do know that Monarch caterpillars/pupa do not overwinter. Maybe Bugguy knows. Speaking of which, where has he been?
I don't know, HEY BUG GUY, maybe he is outside and yelling will get him in here.
we were down around freezing for 5-6 hours i think last night, and i saw what i think are some monarch eggs starting to crawl. maybe i should put my glasses on and look tomorrow. do the eggs crawl before they start the change to cat?
Connie, i would take him also. you gotta see it change.
oh heck, I just might, but my mom is here and wants to see it also but I know she will miss it anyway!
Arlene: the eggs don't crawl. The caterpillars look the same color as the egg when they first hatch and I believe they eat the egg case once they hatch. That may be why you thought you saw the egg crawling.
NO hatch yet! I hope she is still alive.
I think my lovely was to be butterfly is dead. I am so sad. Just wonder what went wrong.
Don't give up yet. Monarchs take 10-14 days to hatch. It's on the early end of that yet. With the cold temps as of late it may take a little bit longer than that. I'm sure it's probably fine. It took my Sphynx month 31 days to hatch! I thought it was dead, too.
BG, ok, I am still watching.
Did your monarch ever hatch??? Mine should hatch this weekend or early next week and then the following weekend or early two weeks from now the last one should hatch. I've seen a number of cats out on the milkweeds. Little ones and it's been C-O-L-D here. They hatched out after a frost. We're supposed to get a frost/freeze this weekend, so we'll see how they do. My hatcheries are all full. I don't have any room in the inn, so they're on their own out there.
Nope, I am sure it is dead, and I am very sad about it. I must make a hatchery for the next one. We are having such a cold spell I think they are all down your way.
Awww...you want one of mine?? Hehehe, I'll get you down here one way or t'other!!
Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it!
What a bummer, weeds. I've had a few that haven't made it. The saddest ones are the ones that come out deformed but alive. You know they're going to get eaten. It's all part of the circle of life. Come on down and we'll share our butterflies with you. Just today I had a Cloudless sulphur, a Monarch, and a Gulf Fritillary flit through my garden. I hope they're headed south. It's gonna get cold tomorrow and stay that way for three days!
This cold has got to hurry up and move back up north where it belongs or I will have to come south to see any flutters!