Emerging Day!!
It is time for your monarch butterfly to emerge (eclose) out into the world!! Congratulations on successfully rearing a monarch egg all the way to monarch butterfly!
From Green to Clear...
At the end of the 10-14 days, your green chrysalis will become clear so you can see the black, white and orange monarch snuggled up inside. This indicates the monarch will emerge very soon. Stay close or you will miss it!!
Fresh and New!
This brand new monarch has just emerged or "eclosed". It's wings are small and wrinkled now but will soon fill and expand. This monarch is very vulnerable. It is unable to fly. It must hang on the remains of it's chrysalis to dry. You will see your monarch spin back and forth to dry it's wings and get circulation going. I do not disturb my monarchs at all during this time. It won't take long for it's wings to expand. It is wonderful to watch, so if you have time, sit back and enjoy the show.
Beautiful New Monarch!
This monarch is not quite ready to fly, but it's wings have expanded all the way. Soon, the wings will begin to slowly flap. When you see small, intermittent flaps, this is a great time to start taking pictures! I let the monarch crawl on my index finger and I take pictures of it on my hand or any object it can hang from. Since the monarch cannot yet fly, it is extremely photogenic. I have gotten some amazing pictures during this time. I got one picture of a monarch sitting on my pregnant belly! Monarchs can be released usually a few hours after emerging. If it looks like it might rain, you can wait until the following day. Monarchs do not need to eat for the first 24 hours, so enjoy them for a bit before releasing.
