Monarchs and Princesses

What a crown for a princess to wear! This monarch decided that the purple hair clip on Nora's head was a flower. Not surprising, really -- butterflies see in the ultraviolet range, and this clip would have 'popped' as brightly as if it was under black lights.

Leslie and James sent us these photographs they took of our Bondi butterflies while they were here for two weeks this summer. Nora and Vivian got to watch the whole process, from "this is a caterpillar" to "how wonderful, this lovely butterfly thinks you are a flower." How cool is that?

While it really starts with the arrival of the butterfly to lay an egg on the milkweed, we're going to take up the tale here, with a caterpillar hatching out on a milkweed. Leave milkweed in your gardens. It's the only plant these monarch caterpillars eat. They will munch the leaves completely off, leaving only a milkweed 'stick' behind. That takes about 14 days, and they shed their skins 5 times along the way.

Then they will curl themselves into a J-shape, and transform into the jade and golden jewel chrysalis that is so beautiful. They will stay in these for 9 to 14 days.

The colour comes from within, so as the butterfly matures, the chrysalis darkens, showing the black and orange of the butterfly within.

This is a wonderful photo showing the chrysalis just before the butterfly emerges, her orange and black wings clearly visible within.

There's no magic signal to watch for when the butterfly is ready to emerge. the chrysalis simply splits, and the butterfly crawls out, her wings all tiny, crumpled and soft.

She will cling to the chrysalis, or close to it, for at least an hour as the hemolymph (butterfly blood) pumps out into the wings, opening them up. She'll spread those wings, and practice opening and closing them until they have dried and hardened enough to support her tiny weight.

Then, the butterfly will take to the sky, drifting and fluttering on the air, searching out flowers for their sweet nectar. In six to ten days, she will seek a mate, and lay more eggs, and start the cycle all over again.

And, quite possibly, along the way, seeking flowers, she will find a 'blossom' of a different kind, and will bless one of us with her gentle, lovely presence.

Some folks ask, "how does the butterfly 'know' how to do this?" Some reply, "it's instinct." But where does this instinct come from? This is truly a miracle, and one we can watch unfold right before our eyes.

How very special that she chose Nora!

Thanks so much for sharing these photos with us!