Monarch Caterpillar Chrysalis * Danaus plexippus
Finding the beauty around us
Monarch Caterpillar makes a chrysalis.
Follow the Monarch Life Cycle - Monarch Caterpillars will often leave their milkweeds looking for a safe place to make their final transformation into a butterfly. This caterpillar has moved onto a nearby Penstemon but they might also hang from a variety of supports from lawn furniture to branches as well as other plants. They are particularly vulnerable at this stage to the Tachinid flies. The amount of transformation that takes place between this point and their emergence as a butterfly is astonishing. Just the process of spinning a cocoon is amazing enough. During the final day of the maturing of the chrysalis the skin turns transparant and the colors of the adult butterfly can be seen for the first time.
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Photographs by Martin Fletcher