My Nebraska

[gmadeb3]

I got very lucky today,  I came home from work and one of the caterpillars was very close to going into its chrysalis.  I thought it would be neat to get a video and better yet to have it in time lapse mode so it would go faster, you can get a good feeling when it is really close.  You see the caterpillars antenna get very limp and it kinda straightens out as it is hanging, then you start to see the skin getting pushed up.  Soon there is a split in the skin down by where the head  was and then the skin gets pushed up all of the way to the top and then off.  It is really wiggly at that point.  Now the chrysalis dries a pretty green and we wait.......

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[Cawatcher]

That should be on Nat Geo!!

[boonibarb]

 
Holy-moly, that is an amazing transformation to try to wrap your little head around how exactly can that happen!

[gmadeb3]

The chrysalis is now a week old.  Here is a photo from each side -  You can make out the wings a bit, they are famous for having the gold dots

[Tigerlady105]

Seeing the wings amazes me!   

[gmadeb3]

You almost need to keep the chrysalis right with you all the time when it gets down to the final days.  In the first picture you can really see the wings and the chrysalis is becoming more clear.  After work when I looked in on the chrysalis it was no longer a chrysalis (the shell still attached to the top of the paper towel.  There she was hanging with her wings still drying.  Since it was later in the evening I will wait to release her in the morning.





Now she can go out and lay the next generation   

[Tigerlady105]

A real beauty, Deb!   

[gmadeb3]

Didn't see the start of the monarch emerging,  here are some photos after it came out.  The wings are curled up and the abdomen is plump.  They pump the fluid from their abdomen into their wings to straighten them out and then dry hanging upside down.  It is also very important during this time that the proboscis is zipped together or they won't be able to eat.  Now the only thing left is the clear empty shell.











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That is the start to the finish of becoming a Monarch Butterfly

[Cawatcher]

Fantastic sequence Thank you Deb

[jeavverhey]

I have thoroughly enjoyed your caterpillars diary from start to finish.    What a great educational tool.    You are very clever to have set it up  in the way that you did, and recorded it so beautifully.  Thanks for sharing  that adventure Deb.

[gmadeb3]

Thank You All for following along.  There is one more thing that is important and that is pollination plants,  that is the food that monarchs need and also food for many like the bees.  Everyone can help by planting flowers,  I know I have mentioned milkweed before and that is important because that is where the monarchs lay their eggs and the caterpillars eat till they are ready to form their chrysalis.  It all is important.

Well Thanks again,  I still have one goal and that is to get the monarch emerging from the chrysalis,  Stay tuned

[gmadeb3]

I finally got a video of the monarch emerging from its chrysalis.  I used the time lapse option,  it goes really fast then.

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[Tigerlady105]

Beautiful results!  Thank you for sharing your videos, Deb.       

[gmadeb3]

Those who have followed my posts on monarchs may have seen an article being posted or being on TV about raising monarchs.  Here is an article about a study that was done and then they published.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/06/hand-reared-monarch-butterflies-dont-migrate/592423/

Of course the media has taken that article and had it on TV and others have used it  also.  Well I have found other sources that can put up their data and give you another opinion. 

https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/when-monarch-science-fails-to-take-flight/?fbclid=IwAR3Rq-SNS_uL0Dbuc6WK4D5kl6HpzMtVeV9quRcXljs8ZvwTIIBd5pZ450E

Just to let you know how I go about raising monarchs for release.  First is looking for eggs on milkweed in the wild,  maybe even finding tiny caterpillars.  I  take them home and make sure they have fresh milkweed everyday, have them in a nice area that is exposed to daylight and also a place that the temperature changes with the day and night.  When they are ready they form their chrysalis and then they continue to stay in the window still exposed to the day and night.  Inside they have a better chance of not being parasitized by the tachinid fly or something else killing them.  They are released to the wild when they have had a chance to dry their wings and can fly off safely.  Another article that is very interesting is  

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-ento-010814-020855

In the fall I do monarch tagging and not so much of the raising.  One thing I have noticed is when you release a monarch after it was tagged it may go right back to eating - at this time they are fueling up for their trip south so I don't think they fly south right then.  They really will wait till the weather conditions are favorable for them to get up to the air currents that are northerly  and will assist them heading south.  No matter what is being said or done I do believe one thing that can be done is to make sure the migration highway has milkweed and flowering pollinators for them to use.  Remember also that not all monarchs migrate,  only the 4th generation that emerges in the fall are the ones that fly south.

I hope this info is helpful in understanding what is being said or posted.   

[gmadeb3]

It is really neat to have the prairie areas so close to me.  Conservation groups work very hard at restoring old cow/horse pastures and cornfields back to native prairies which can be tall grass or short grass and  wet meadows.  Many birds love that habitat,  it gives them good ground cover and lots of food.  Amazing that so many of the prairie birds nest on the ground,  well it shouldn't be a big surprise  cause there are not very many trees.  Most trees are along the river or in ravines.  I saw a couple of Bobolinks out on the prairie and they are pretty neat.  Males don't look like the female at all and they sing while they fly.  They are a bird that migrates to the plains to breed.  It winters in South America and the male will molt to look like the female in the fall.