Metamorphosis

A dispatch from the butterfly ranch. 

Eventually the caterpillar stops eating, hangs upside down from a twig or leaf and molts into a shiny chrysalis. Within its protective sheath the caterpillar transforms its body to eventually emerge as a butterfly.  It is an amazing transformation to witness. Ripe with metaphor.

Sunday afternoon I rose from my church festival-induced nap to putter in the garden and found this.     

click on images for a better look

 

Yup.  A monarch caterpillar ensconced on a tomato trellis in my vegetable garden.  I have to give this caterpillar an extra credit grade for choice of location.  Organic gardens are generally pesticide-free.

Because monarchs don’t eat tomatoes - at least that I am aware-of - this bug was an interloper.

Moreover, this one looked like he was getting ready to hang.  

And hang he did. 

Monarch larvae hang inverted in a distinctive ‘J’ formation like this for up to 24 hours before morphing into a chrysalis.  What is remarkable to me is that in preparation for metamorphosis these critters will travel a distance to locate a suitable perch.  In this case this particular caterpillar traveled a minimum of 150 feet from the nearest milkweed plant to hang in this particular location. 

Very particular this critter is.  

From late afternoon yesterday there is this.

 

In about nine days (give or take) this chrysalis should open to release an adult monarch butterfly. 

One additional generation that will be applied to the propagation of the species on their migration from places far south to here and back.     







Stay-tuned……         

Credit to Jill for the video