What a surprise I had this morning...
At last. My first...
And then we had lift off! I have never seen a butterfly get his bearings so fast. The ones I have seen fly a little, stop a little, fly a little more and eventually move off at full strength. This one flapped his gorgeous wings and took off high and far.
The other one never did emerge.
Sybil, you know that getting its bearings for a Monarch depends upon the time of year - whether it is to go north or south. We were releasing a Monarch near winter and were afraid it would go the wrong way. Catbird called the butterfly center and was advised - "they will fly in the direction the adult was going when it stopped to lay its eggs". That did it - they were migrating to Mexico, so we knew where the newbie would go.
FYI - I spent 3 years up on the Iron Range - mid-1960's. Virginia, Mn. Don't remember seeing any butterflies :-). Too cold. Had to cancel a BBQ on the 4th of July. Finished cooking inside on the stove.
Rod
It probably wasn't too cold. I bet the iron threw off their inner compass!
I never paid any attention to this process before. It's fascinating.
Sybil,
You said
Quoting:
I sure hope that doesn't mean you gave up. The BSTs are really varied in the amount of time it takes. Don't give up on it yet.
The other one never did emerge.
It's still on its stick. Really nothing I can do unless it starts to snow!
On the second photo I posted, the butterfly is crawling over the chrysalid.
Sybil, even if it starts to snow have patience. The Swallowtails will hibernate. And, you never know for sure when they will start to hibernate and when they will emerge. We have completely forgotten about them through the winter, only to come home some evening to a butterfly welcome.
Rod
Okay. He looks deader than dead to me but you know more about this than I do!