Butterfly Boutique

All but one of our caterpillars crawled to the tops of the containers and made the transition into full blown chrysalids. The other guy was just lazy and did it laying amonst the food. That's the way I'd do it, too. :)



This means they got to be moved to the butterfly boutique - the observation habitat. This stage will take 7 to 10 days. We check on them first thing in the morning (note: bedhead). Kenzie also takes many pictures of them on her own camera throughout the day.



Apparently, the chrysalids will grow darker and darker, which will be the clue that they are soon to emerge. As they emerge, they will rest in a vertical position while pumping their wings to full size. The butterflies do this by forcing blood under pressure into the veins of the wings. One to two hours after emergence, the wings will be full-sized and hardened. They will then be ready to fly.



So, now...we wait. And do silly stuff like this: