Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

      Recently my good friend Marit, a Norwegian gardener extraordinaire, commented that she took great delight in the beauty of a Monarch, and hoped to see more pictures of this most enigmatic of butterflies.

     I am glad to oblige.

Female

Male

     As you may see the two sexes are virtually identical, but the male has two alar pockets (dark spots) on the hindwing that the female lacks.

     The male shown above was raised by us from egg to adult butterfly and is drying its wings after emerging from the chrysalis. 

     It is a fascinating exercise to raise butterflies and anyone can do it with ease. In addition to Monarchs we have raised Black Swallowtails (Papilio polyxenes) and Giant Swallowtails (Papilio cresphontes).

Black Swallowtail

Giant Swallowtail

     To watch the egg hatch and the caterpillar develop from one instar to the next, pupate and then emerge as an adult butterfly - a process known as holometaboly - is a source of amazement. If you have children of your own, or can invite children in the neighbourhood to witness this transformation, it is deeply satisfying and you may instill a love of, and respect for, nature into these young minds.

     Here is how it all begins, with the tiny egg laid on the underside of a Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) leaf.

     Milkweeds are critical to Monarchs who are unable to breed without access to a species of Asclepias.

     Monarchs go through five larval instars; shown below is a tiny first instar chomping its way through milkweed and producing a copious amount of frass (poop).

     A little bigger.....

     Bigger still (probably fourth instar).....

     And finally getting ready to pupate.

     It should be noted that as the caterpillar progresses from one instar to the next it moults its outer cuticle. 

     When the chrysalis is formed it is an exquisitely beautiful structure containing all the genetic material required to produce a resplendent Monarch butterfly.

     It is a waiting game now, for about nine to fourteen days, until the butterfly emerges, but towards the end of the pupation cycle there is much to see.

     Actually, Miriam caught this astonishing sequence of the caterpillar shedding its final skin as it metamorphosed to a chrysalis. In the four pictures below, from the first to the last only five minutes had elapsed.

     Just before eclosion, the completely formed butterfly is clearly visible inside the chrysalis.

     As soon as the adult emerges from its "imprisonment" it pumps its wings full of air and rests for a period to dry out.

     Here you see two freshly eclosed butterflies, with a chrysalis containing another in the background.

     Within an hour or two the butterflies are released and - incredibly - will embark on a journey to spend the winter in Mexico.

     There is much more to be said about this phenomenal creature, but the purpose of this post is to satisfy Marit's request for more pictures, so that's what I will leave you with.

     What a beauty! What a joy to share my life with Monarchs.