Birth Day!!!

I sat at the pc this morning without looking at the cocoon. Usually it's the first thing I do. About 15 minutes later I looked up and thought it looked strange. Well, it was because the butterfly had hatched and was hanging from the top of the jar on the lace. Oh how I wish I could have gotten photos of the birth! It was at 8:45 am when I saw it. It took one hour for it's first flight from tree to tree and another 25 minutes to fly out of my site. What a wonderful gift to see from start to finish. I hope you enjoy the photos. Some you have already seen but I wanted to put them in order.
#1. Just layed 2/14


#2. Ready to hatch 2/24


#3. Out of the egg. 2/24 About one quarter inch long.


#4. 3/3 One week old

#5. Sixteen days old. 3/12

#6. 3/14 Last instar. The old skin is laying beside him (he will eat it) and the black face that is too small is being shed. The green is his new face.

#7. 3/17 is over 2 inches. 21 days old.

#8. 3/20 ready to pupate

#9. Change complete

#10. 4/6 Birth day. They have to dry out and get fluid pumped into their wings before they can fly.

#11. Birth day continued. He was not in any hurry to leave my hand. Hubby was afraid he was going to fall off so had his hand under. :) I will transfer him to a tree now so he can finish his thing.

#12. Cocoon for size comparison.

#13. Face close-up.

These next 3 photos are showing front and back. His body is still swollen. He releases liquid a few times before he flies.

Hope you enjoyed as much as my husband and I did. :D

Check out my Monarch sequence: http://carlafinley.blogspot.com/2009/01/from-caterpillar-to-butterfly.html