Mrs B's Great Adventure (15) What have we got here? by jesika2

Mrs B's Great Adventure (15) What have we got here?

The cast off final caterpillar skin.
A chrysallis cunningly disguised as a leaf.
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Well that is so cunningly disguised I would never have known had you not said! x
June 10th, 2018  
@fbailey We might not see food, but birdies certainly do!
Thanks.
jx
June 10th, 2018  
Very strange and interesting!
June 10th, 2018  
@peterday @stownsend Thank you, Suzie. The sloughed off skin is a part of insect development we usually do not see. There is no cruelty, starvation, deprivation, ill treatment, it simply is what happens and I thought others might find it interesting too - and odd!
j
June 10th, 2018  
great photographic history you have captured of the process :)
June 10th, 2018  
@koalagardens Thanks, not much longer to wait now. Hopefully 4 will eclose (hatch, emerge) next weekend but my "family" has increased by about 15 mostly 1st instars unintentionally brought in on Alder Buckthorn baby food. Most people don't see the metamorphosis, they know of caterpillars - reviled - and butterflies - adored, not all the complicated processes between stages. It was fun before digital cameras but I've learnt so much because I can see and enlarge details previously denied.
j
June 10th, 2018  
This has really been interesting, Jesika.
June 11th, 2018  
Wow, I didn't know the chrysallis looked so much like a leaf.
June 11th, 2018  
Such a lovely record
June 11th, 2018  
@milaniet Thank you, Milanie, I'm so pleased the digital age has made the unseen much easier to view and also made it possible to share.
j
June 11th, 2018  
@joev It's incredible, isn't it, Joe, but birds can tell the difference!
j
June 11th, 2018  
@susie1205 The "pretty" part comes next, hopefully over next weekend. The pupae look healthy, it will be interesting to see what the butterflies look like after only 19 days as larvae. I think they might be smaller than usual but hope to be proven incorrect. We can only wait.
j
June 11th, 2018  
The suspense is taunting me! I can't wait to see the final stage!
June 11th, 2018  
@bigmxx I get a bit nervous when eclosure is due, wondering if there will be problems, and if there are, will I be able to solve them. I've played midwife several times with Tortoiseshells that got stuck in the chrysallis, hope I never have to again.
June 11th, 2018  
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