Sunday, July 31, 2011

Well, that was quick!

Yesterday, we saw one of the caterpillars attach itself to the underside of a chopstick.  This morning, we woke up and saw a chrysalis.  It looks like we snagged these guys right in time.

The other caterpillar is still roaming around the container and feasting on dill.  I expect it will follow its colleague into pupa-dom shortly.

This site says the pupa stage lasts about two weeks, although it also states that in late summer, the pupa will enter "diapause" and not emerge for 8 to 9 months!  I'm hoping that it will just be a two week stage so Henry can see the change without too much delay.  If we lived somewhere colder, I would put the stick with the chrysalis outside so it could wait and emerge to warmth.  However, since we apparently live in the antechamber to Hades (based on today's highs), I'm quite certain that these guys will have plenty of time to enjoy their butterfly lives before "winter" sets in.

One last interesting fact: The color of the chrysalis is determined by the color of the object to which the caterpillar attaches itself.  If it's something green, the chrysalis is green.  If it's dark, the chrysalis is brown.  Isn't that amazing?

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