As I wrote in the last post, my Monarch caterpillar has now become a chrysalis. After waiting about 24 hours for the chrysalis to be safe to move, I carefully took it outside yesterday and got some photos. Here are several of them:
The chrysalis is so beautiful, almost like a little jewel. I remember the first time I saw one, I was amazed at the gold on it. The pictures don't do it justice.
I also learned last year that there is a way to tell at this stage whether the Monarch is a male or female. The following photos show were to look on the chrysalis to determine this.
You can see above that there is a small line right below the two bottom black dots. The presence of this line indicates that the Monarch is a female. If there is no line, the Monarch is a male. So, given the above, my Monarch is a female.
Once she emerges, I will take photos and clarify this. I do find it easier to tell males from females once they are butterflies.
The chrysalis is so beautiful, almost like a little jewel. I remember the first time I saw one, I was amazed at the gold on it. The pictures don't do it justice.
I also learned last year that there is a way to tell at this stage whether the Monarch is a male or female. The following photos show were to look on the chrysalis to determine this.
You can see above that there is a small line right below the two bottom black dots. The presence of this line indicates that the Monarch is a female. If there is no line, the Monarch is a male. So, given the above, my Monarch is a female.
Once she emerges, I will take photos and clarify this. I do find it easier to tell males from females once they are butterflies.
