Creekside

No better time than now

Chrysalis to Monarch

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10:59 AM Chrysalis appears ebony and shiny. It’s actually that the chrysalis itself is translucent and the black wing markings are providing most of the color. You can see a bit of dark orange from the wing as well. When the chrysalis looks black like this, when you can discern wing markings, emergence is immanent.
12:08 PM Barely an hour later (I missed it). The Monarch has emerged. It will cling near the chrysalis for hours while it prepares to be able to fly. Good time to get photos. In the next stage it will pump its wings. Yellow arrow: Monarch butterfly. Orange arrow: The shed chrysalis. It is nearly transparent. My observation is that the more transparent the shed chrysalis appears, the healthier the butterfly. Some have been grey, dark grey, cloudy. Butterflies from such chrysalides often cannot fly away.
Better photo of the newly emerged Butterfly in better light.

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