6 of the caterpillars have gotten very big. Here’s one…it was about the same size as the one near the top when I brought it in.
You can see 5 of them here.
When they first shed their skins they are a light orange…the spikes a cream color and within a few hours they are as beautiful as these two.
3 of them went to the top yesterday and put themselves in the “J” formation…similar to the Monarchs and Queens.
You can see that it is losing some of it’s color…it is getting ready to pupate.
I had never seen the Gulf Fritillary pupate so it was pretty interesting. It does push it’s skin to the top and shake it off like the Monarchs, but there the similarity ends…
The video shows how it’s done. The other caterpillar is looking for a spot to do the same.
This is what it looked like a few hours later.
This is the next day…it is starting to angle itself, and will be almost parallel with the wood.
It’s a very interesting process , but can’t say I think these chrysalis are as pretty as the Monarch’s and Queen’s.
I read it takes about 8 days before the butterfly emerges. Can’t wait to see that!
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