Raising Herbert - Part 2
My hubby tells me that there are thousands of readers waiting on the edge of their seats for the next update of Herbert the Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar ...is he being sarcastic, I wonder? Anyway, the good news is that Herbert is alive and well and living in chrysalis form near our wildlife pond. I moved him out of the container onto a milkweed plant outdoors because we were going away for a few days and I didn't think Herbert would travel well. Here are a couple of pics of his transformation.
Here he has fixed himself with a tiny silken thread to the bottom of a leaf and formed the shape of a "J", beginning the process of shedding his caterpillar (larval) skin and turning into a chrysalis (this is called pupating):
Two days later, he had morphed into a chrysalis, which is a cocoon from which the adult monarch butterfly will eventually emerge after about 10-14 days (if all goes well).
Hard to believe that this strange alien-looking life form with glowing yellow and black dots will turn into a gorgeous butterfly!
Stay tuned for Herbert updates! In the meantime, I am seeing more fresh-looking (ie newly hatched) adult monarch butterflies flying around our butterfly gardens, so things may be looking up for this year's southward migration from New England to Mexico!
Here he has fixed himself with a tiny silken thread to the bottom of a leaf and formed the shape of a "J", beginning the process of shedding his caterpillar (larval) skin and turning into a chrysalis (this is called pupating):
Two days later, he had morphed into a chrysalis, which is a cocoon from which the adult monarch butterfly will eventually emerge after about 10-14 days (if all goes well).
Hard to believe that this strange alien-looking life form with glowing yellow and black dots will turn into a gorgeous butterfly!
Stay tuned for Herbert updates! In the meantime, I am seeing more fresh-looking (ie newly hatched) adult monarch butterflies flying around our butterfly gardens, so things may be looking up for this year's southward migration from New England to Mexico!
Posted by Ellen Sousa at 8/6/2010 10:06 AM 
Categories: Butterfly gardens, Monarch life cycle, New England gardening for butterflies, Monarch Waystation
Tags: Asclepias syriaca Monarch butterfly caterpillars Monarch butterflies Asclepias Milkweed
Categories: Butterfly gardens, Monarch life cycle, New England gardening for butterflies, Monarch Waystation
Tags: Asclepias syriaca Monarch butterfly caterpillars Monarch butterflies Asclepias Milkweed
Ahhhhhh ... now I can sleep well tonight knowing that Herbert is developing nicely. I'll bet he's in the 90th percentile compared to other chrysalises his age.
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I love it that we are all engaged in this wondrous process! It is great that we have so many Monarchs this year for last year (the first time in over 20 years I could not raise them) we had hardly none. I had not one. I love your way of sharing ... your story and name ... Herbert... but can you be sure it is not a Harriet? I look forward to seeing! ;>)
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Beautiful photos and I'm looking forward to the next chapter.
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Carol, you know, I think Herbert just looked like a male
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I'm glad to find your blog again, I had followed it last winter. I love Herbert's saga, and am looking forward to seeing how he/she develops!
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hi Laurrie, welcome back! There are updates to Herbert's story and I'll be posting them soon...he is doing great and he would like to thank you for your interest
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