Monday, July 22, 2019

Becoming A Butterfly

All butterflies must go through 4 stages to become an Adult Butterfly!
Egg
Larvae - Caterpillar
Pupa - Chrysalis
then they become an Adult Butterfly

The next 5 pictures were taken on July 11th,
during their eating frenzy.
These were taken right after I had cleaned the cage.






The next 2 were taken on July 13th.



They eat like crazy, and then suddenly stop.
For 2 days they look for the perfect spot to spin
a silky cocoon and molt into Chrysalis.

At this point I have 15 in Chrysalis.
If you are interested in reading a more detailed article about the transformation,
How Does A Caterpillar Turn In To A Butterfly
is a good article.

This is the first Butterfly that emerged on July 19th.
After they emerge, you must leave them in the cage for 2 hours so they can dry their wings.

When we brought it outside, it hung around for a few minutes, and then flew off.
It came back and flew by as if to say "thanks, life with you was good"!

This is a picture of the second butterfly to emerge on July 20th.
We brought it outside and it took off immediately after just this one picture.

It is so satisfying to watch them fly off, and to know that you were a big part of creating them.
And let's not forget how beautiful they are!

22 comments:

R's Rue said...

Beautiful.

eileeninmd said...

Hello Debbie, you are a pro now, raising the butterflies. They are beautiful. Enjoy your day, wishing you a great new week!

Sally said...

How wonderful to see the process, Debbie! Thanks to you and Chuck, they are able to live! This reminds me of an old hymn, "I'll fly away sweet Jesus"

xoxo

Natalia said...

Thst is such a fascintating process to observe!☺

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

They are so pretty!

Marie Smith said...

I love seeing your butterfly adventures, Debbie. Great photos.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

We look forward to raising butterflies each year, and it is fun to follow your exploits too, Debbie. It is a very easy way to get a little more connected with nature; perhaps more people will start to do it. If you have children or grandchildren there is endless fascination - and learning - for them.

LeAnn said...

Thank you again, for sharing the transformation of a butterfly. You do such a great job of showing the process through your lovely photos. I love that you do this and think it is so awesome. I'm going to share it all with my grandchildren.
Sending loving thoughts and hugs your way!

Karen Lakis said...

The butterflies are sooo pretty! It's wonderful that you do this.

lil red hen said...

What a thrilling hobby! Your pictures a great!

Ruth Hiebert said...

This sounds like a fun thing to be a part of.

Jenn said...

Fabulous pic! I did this with my son a couple years ago, we had one who was never able to fly and we looked after him and gave him all the orange slices he wanted.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Oh Debbie I admire your butterfly posts so much. Thank you for this amazing thing you do and for sharing it all so beautifully. Funny, I’ve seen the results of “very hungry caterpillars” before, but don’t think I’ve ever seen them actually chewing on their host plant... those pictures are so intriguing.

Sue (this n that) said...

I'm another who dearly loves your butterfly posts. Everything you write about them is fascinating, and your photos are superb.
It's a beautiful thing you do, raising and releasing. Thank you for being you xx

Merlesworld said...

We don't have long to wait when all the spring butterflies invade our garden.
Merle...........

Hena Tayeb said...

Beautiful photos. The kids get caterpillars and daycare and watch them become butterflies, it such a cool transformation to watch.

italiafinlandia said...

Not only the colour of the butterflies is nice, but also the colour of the caterpillars...

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

awwwwwwwwwwwww

Lowcarb team member said...

I always enjoy your butterfly posts, and this one was wonderful too.
Great photographs.

All the best Jan

Conniecrafter said...

Oh how cool, it looks like they are enjoying your organic dill :) that is so neat that the one flew by as if to say thanks. I bet it is a great feeling watching them take off after you have took such a big part in their beginning!

Brian King said...

That's awesome! You have the whole thing down to an art!

Elizabeth Edwards said...

what fun. i did this in 1st grade ... i still remember those days. it was a Monarch butterfly though. 3 of them ..so cool!! ( ;