Butterfly farm update

My Monarchs are coming out of their chrysalises!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was this morning at 8:51 am.

...and at 10:47 am.

This little guy decided to lay down on the job...he attached himself to the lid of this can that I have in the cage for ananchor when it's windy.

I still have 5 little caterpillars chewing away. This little guy looked so cute peeking around the corner of a leaf. I have to go drive around the countryside looking for milkweed for these hungry little critters.

So at final count I have:

2 new butterflies

10 chrysalises

3 caterpillars "J-hooking"

5 caterpillars still eating

From caterpillar to chrysalis...the Monarch transforms

This was amazing to witness...one of the Monarch caterpillars I found last week transformed into its chrysalis. This one started by attaching himself (or herself!) to the ceiling and hanging down in a "J". They call it J-hooking. He hung like that for a while, but I just happened to be there when he started wiggling around and I knew he was getting ready to transform.

Here you can see his antennae getting droopy. He squishes himself together and then extends himself (1st and 2nd pics) for a bunch of times...

...then finally his old skin splits open on his back and the green chrysalis emerges.

Here he is, almost free of his old skin.

He continues to wiggle - not sure what he is accomplishing, but in the end...

...he looks like this. His buddy is in the background, getting ready to do the same thing!
It's hard to see it in this picture, but that line of black on the chrysalis also has a thin line of gold next to it. Beatiful!

What a miracle!