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It’s Not Easy to Become a Butterfly!

Michael spent most of the morning shedding his skin – and looking terrible.  Even though I am getting used to the times when a caterpillar is incredibly still – sometimes laying on its side – I keep worrying that maybe it is dying.

At lunchtime I noticed that he was wiggling, so I knew he would soon be shedding his skin.  However, it is a fairly long process, and I didn’t have time to watch. 

I checked every half hour, and did get to seem him just after it happened – notice the pile of black skin in back of him.  But also notice that he has not yet shed his face mask!  I read about that the other day, and was pleased to see that. 

After his face mask was removed, Michael turned around to eat his skin.  Research tells me it’s a bit like us taking vitamins.

Notice Max (bottom left) and Molly (top right) are also in this picture.

After that long process, Michael was hungry.

Three day old Munch was busy munching today.

Two of the one-day old M & M’s spent the day eating, but I cannot locate the other two.  I keep wondering what may have happened to them.  Did they fall in the water, did a bigger one eat them?  I guess I won’t conduct a funeral, but it made me think about how many times that happens in nature and we never give it a thought. 

Notice the difference in size between Michael and one of the day-old caterpillars.

Seven Random Facts About Myself

I’ve been tagged by vernam06.  Thanks, I guess!  This will be a nice diversion from caterpillars. 

1. I am very organized and cannot work well when my house or office is disorganized. 
• I like being organized, which means the basic function of my house and office doesn’t take up too much of my time.
2. I am Director of Communications for Transport For Christ and love working out of our home office.  (Cerwin is Director of Chapel Construction)
• My responsibilities:
• Do the layout, design, and mailing of newsletters for our field staff and leadership team
• Write a quarterly newsletter called The Extra Mile.
• There are 17,555 names in my database at this moment – with the ability to sort out any staff person’s mailing list.
• I ship an average of one-and-a-half to two bulk mailings per week.
• Newsletters/flyers/banquet promotions, etc.
• I spend a lot of time keeping the database updated with changes and additions. 
• I am currently adding 700 names for a staff person whose mailing I am doing for the first time.
• Today there are four newsletters (in various stages of preparation) in my office.
3. I love hearing people’s life stories.
4. I love to travel and am excited to be going to Germany and Switzerland next summer.  
• Our church – The Church of the Brethren – is celebrating 300 years in 2008, and we decided to go on a tour to visit our church and family roots.
5. I love to learn new things.
6. I love to walk and enjoy creation – but most of all I love to walk and enjoy fellowship with The Creator.
7. I never tag people – so this tag will stop here. 

Monarch Nursery!

Just when I thought I was going to have an ordinary day with my caterpillar family, I discover two babies and two others emerging from their eggs!

Chaplain David Roberts brought photos for his newsletter this morning, and after explaining how he wanted it set up, I invited him to see the caterpillars.  When I lifted a leaf to show him the eggs, I noticed a baby and another emerging! 

A caterpillar preparing to emerge from an egg.

Several more views of the process.

There he is!

All four of them look exactly alike – there is no way I can tell them apart – so I am calling them the M & Ms.

Tonight I could only find three – so hopefully #4 M is just hiding somewhere.

Michael chewed his leaf clean – leaving only the stem – before moving on to a new leaf tonight.

Max and Molly are both busy munching and are beginning to look more and more like each other.

If Molly continues to chew as feverishly as she did today – and catch up in size with Max – I will not know which is which.

I still recognize Munch, because he is the only teenager.  He moved to a new leaf today and has been very busy chewing.

Monarch Activity Today

The milkweed – from the top of the aquarium

 A side view.  Since this aquarium did not have a screened top, I am using a window screen.

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Michael

Michael was busy this morning before I went to work in the office, then was very still when I checked on him at 10 AM and noon.  I was glad I knew that they will be very still before shedding their skin – which they do several times during the caterpillar stage.

In the early afternoon he shed his skin, ate it, then began munching again.

He is getting big and beautiful!

~~~

The Twins:  Max & Molly

By the size of the hole in the leaf, it appeared that Max had been eating all night.

Consequently he seemed much larger than Molly this morning.

I was kind of worried about her, as she just sat there – not eating – not moving.

When I checked on them at 10 AM – I was glad to see her eating the skin she had just shed.

Notice how much bigger Max is than Molly – and yesterday they were the same size.

Finally, when I checked on them after work – she was munching on a leaf.

While Molly explored her leaf this evening, Max decided to head to the penthouse.

~~~

Baby Munch

Look at him this morning!  He’s starting to look like a caterpillar.

And tonight he is even bigger.  Notice all the black poo on the leaf.  Michael and Munch share the same leaf, making a lot of dirt.

~~~

The Eggs

As far as I can tell, all six eggs are still intact.

~~~

Guess what I saw at suppertime!

A Monarch Butterfly

I have only seen one or two this summer, and they were so flighty I couldn’t get a picture.  This one just stayed and allowed me shoot as many pictures as I wanted. 

Maybe I smell like a Monarch – or maybe I’m taking care of her babies!

 If I understand my research correctly, this one is a female because there are no dots on the interior of her bottom wings.

A Family Supper

Last night my mother’s family – the Hawthorne’s – were at our family pavilion (in our woodlot) for a carry-in supper.  The weather was perfect – and it was wonderful to spend time with aunts, uncles, cousins, and their families.

Hezekiah (grandson), Tristan (nephew), Clair (brother), and Aunt Joyce (my mother’s youngest sister).

The dessert end of the food table.

Norm (uncle through marriage), Denny (cousin through marriage), Doug (cousin), and Bob (uncle through marriage).

Orpha Mae (Mother’s sister), Lester (Mother’s brother), Dale (my oldest brother), and Dale’s grandson, Jacob, with back to the camera.

 Mike (Cousin) and Donna’s son – not sure of his name – with his plate full.

Donna (cousin through marriage), Nancy (my sister), Velma (my step-mother).

Steve (my youngest brother) and Mike (cousin)

Melissa’s daughter, Kelci, is eating food the same color as her hair!  Background:  Travis, Chelsey, Jamie, and Amy.

Melissa, Chelsey, and Amy are my sister’s daughters.  Travis, Jamie, and Kelci are her grandchildren.

My cousin, Joan, talking to Aunt Orpha Mae.

~~~

An evening with the Hawthornes always brings back wonderful memories of my mother and grandparents.  Aunt Orpha Mae’s voice sound’s like what I remember of Mother’s voice – and the sisters laugh and talk like her.  I love being part of this family.

Learning More About Monarchs

I smiled this morning when I saw the design Michael’s munching was making.  It reminded me of people who won’t eat the crust on their bread!

After checking on Michael, I looked for the four eggs.  I found three, but could not locate the fourth.  My heart dropped, because I thought one must have shriveled up and died…

…then I found A BABY!

I was so excited to find this tiny – almost invisible – thing moving on a leaf!

I named it Munch

~~~

This evening – after preparing the aquarium my brother, Clair, gave me last night – I decided there was room for another vase of milkweed leaves, so went to my brothers’ farm to look for a few more stems – and hopefully more eggs or caterpillars.

Look What I Found!

Twins!  I named them Molly and Max.

I also found three more eggs.  Now my aquarium holds six eggs and four caterpillars.

The Four Caterpillars

Munch is so tiny, I had to use a yellow arrow to point it out to you.

After transferring Max and Molly to a leaf in my aquarium, Max promptly took off for a new leaf home.

Molly stayed a while longer, but then thought she saw a greener leaf on the other side of the stem.

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This great Website was given to me by another blogger:  http://monarchwatch.com/

Click on Monarch Biology (third on the left).  That will give you an interesting page on Anatomy.  Make sure you also click on Sexing Monarchs and Life Cycle on the left.  I found those three pages quite informative and interesting.  I learned that I cannot tell the sex of the caterpillar until it is a Pupa (Chrysalis). 

My New Friend is a Glutton!

This is what Michael’s leaf looked like at noon today.

Right now (10:43 PM) it looks like this!

~~~

I’m suspicious that it is a boy because of the small “eye-like” dots on its backside.  My Internet research tells me a male Monarch has “eye-like” dots on a bottom stripe of its wings, but a female does not.)  Maybe someone else knows more about that while it is in caterpillar stage.

INFORMATION ON MY MONARCH EGGS AND CATERPILLAR

Due to some questions and interest in what I am doing.

I understand that all you have to do is keep the milkweed alive by placing it in a glass or vase of water.  Then put the glass/vase in a container that can be covered so the caterpillar and later butterfly doesn’t escape – also the screen is usually where it will attach the chrysalis.

My SIL said if the milkweed dries up during the process, get a new stem and transfer the caterpillar to it.  (I doubt that eggs can be transferred.)

You will want to release the butterfly when it is ready to fly, as a screened-in aquarium is much too small for them.

 A screen-covered aquarium is great – and I’m trying to locate a free one in our neighborhood!  (My brother just returned my call as I am typing this – he thinks they have several aquariums. )

This is also a learning process for me.  So don’t expect any expert advice. 

I’m quite pleased that Michael – if its a girl, she will be Michelle – my caterpillar, is still alive and munching on the leaf this morning – and making lots of “poo dirt”.

My SIL said the bottom of the container/aquarium will get quite dirty, because all they do is eat and poo.

I found an interesting link at http://www.monarchbutterflyusa.com/Cycle.htm

~~~

I will be grateful for any advice from those who have tried this.

This Should Be Interesting!

I am going to watch a Monarch butterfly cycle.

This bowl is too small, but that is all I had for today.  I will look for something larger in the next day or two.

~~~

After lunch I met my sister-in-law, who does this every year in her classroom at a local Christian school.  This year she is my teacher as well.

We started by looking for eggs under milkweed leaves.  I found one milkweed with four or five eggs.  This photo shows two.  The one in the center is a good idea of what you should look for, as the egg is shaped like a small football.

Two eggs and a caterpillar

I am anxious to watch this amazing cycle.

Lightening Bugs

When I posted a picture of a lightening bug the other week, a few of you mentioned that you had never seen one, so I spent a few minutes in our yard the other night trying to capture what I was seeing – a yard full of lightening bugs.

Taking a picture of small, flashing lights is easier said than done!

Finally – two lit up just as I took a picture.

~~~

It’s been a busy day – so that’s it folks.