Chrysalis update: a happy ending, we think?

No news is good news, right? The shell was empty when we got home from the beach. In age: Su Leslie, 2017

I had such high hopes of watching our latest chrysalis emerge, but when we got home from the beach yesterday, the shell was empty. I’m taking this as a sign the butterfly successfully emerged. The process was much faster than with the last hatchling, which I think might also be a good sign. 

So sadly, no video of  an emerging butterfly, but hopefully one more Monarch to thrive and breed.

By way of compensation, here are a couple of shots of the first hatchling; which somehow survived the chrysalis stage glued to a matchstick, held in place with a bulldog clip, attached to a nail in a piece of wood. 

Hatchling one; rescued from the ground, and held in place with glue and the Big T’s ingenuity.Image: Su Leslie, 2016.

Testing its wings. Monarch butterfly rescue hatchling #1. Image: Su Leslie, 2016