Cindy Treger Art Collections

The Birth Of A Monarch - Book

This gallery is dedicated to the witnessing of the amazing process of a Monarch, Danaus plexippus, emerging from its chrysalis. The monarch has four stages of life: egg, larva or caterpillar, pupa or chrysalis phase and the adult. They take anywhere from 28 to 38 days to complete the cycle. The caterpillar hangs upside down in a J shape and attaches itself to the branch, and slowly sheds its skin and becomes the jade green chrysalis. It takes about an hour for the shell to harden. Once the caterpillar enters the chrysalis stage, it is about 9 to 14 days before the butterfly emerges. The chrysalis is about one inch long, and there is no warning when the chrysalis will crack open. The only clue I had was that it had turned clear and I could see that the butterfly was filling up all the space. Once the butterfly emerges, it clings to the empty chrysalis shell and starts pumping hemolymph, insects blood-like substance, through its body, thus enlarging its wings. This process only takes a few minutes. Another thing it does almost immediately is to assemble its proboscis, which is in two pieces. They use palpi to work the two parts together to form a single proboscis. About an hour after emerging, their wings are full-sized, dry and ready to fly. The monarch that I captured, started the process at 5:00 p.m., but the sun went down at around 7:00 p.m. and the temperature dropped to 64 degrees. The next morning, he was in the same spot, and it was only 53 degrees, so the monarch won't be able to fly until his body temperature reaches 85 degrees. (As it turned out the sun came out long enough to warm him and he flew away at 10:00 a.m.) They are rendered immobile with temperatures below 55 degrees. I have uploaded the pictures in the order that they were taken. I kept watch on the chrysalis for ten days, and kept praying that I would be able to capture it emerging. When I saw that it had become clear, I attached my camera to my tripod, got a chair and waited for an hour before the process started. I realize now just how fast it happened, and how easy it would have been to miss it. I thank God for answering my prayer to witness this, and giving me the ability to share His majestic beauty. I hope you enjoy this gallery. (This was all possible because I planted two butterfly weeds this past spring. I think I will get more next year, because this was an amazing experience.)