Recently, I had the supreme good fortune to follow the journey of a wild Monarch butterfly. Sure, we have had the pleasure of bringing Monarch eggs into our home, watching them progress into caterpillars, feeding them milkweed leaves, and eventually becoming a chrysalis that emerges into a beautiful Monarch butterfly ~ it was fantastic! However, to actually bear witness to these events in the wilds of our backyard defies any declaration; it is beyond miraculous.
One of the challenges of following the Monarch’s metamorphic journey is that the caterpillar doesn’t stay on the plant it feeds on. Who knew?! Once they are satiated, they drop to find a place to change. Apparently, they are fast and can go rather far, I was lucky to notice one just 2 feet away from the feeding plant. Moreover, it was so nicely camouflaged that on my daily visits to watch it evolve, I had a difficult time locating it. Nature is fantastic!
Here are some photos of its journey:
They are eating and pooping machines
Hanging in “J”
chrysalis
Check out those wings
The emergence
Pumping up those wings and getting ready for flight
May you also have the good fortune to witness such an amazing event.