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| Tuesday, September 19, 2006 |
| Witnessing a Miracle, Part 2 |
FINALLY! Blogger is cooperating on uploading the pictures! Here's the rest of my story from Monday... 
I brought my dishes inside and hit the loo before I went back. Fortunately, I had the camera in my hand when I ducked back out to take a peek, because the butterfly was already halfway out!
Just like us, the butterflies emerge head-first. See the long legs to the left in this shot? And it practically explodes in size once the chrysalis is breached. BTW, the legs are dark blue in color. I never knew that.
 One of the first things I noticed was how fat the abdomen was. And how tiny the wings were! It didn't appear that the butterfly was normal, because I expected the wings to be more wrinkled. They looked only a bit crumpled but fairly normal other than that, just very small.
As the minutes ticked by and nothing changed with the wings, I figured I'd coddled and encouraged a mutant who would never fly. The one that I finally get to see, and have a camera handy to document, is the one that's got something wrong with it! 
 
In these pictures, you can see how the wings just expanded rather than uncrumpled. They were a little rippled in the beginning, but I'd describe the sequence as more like a balloon being blown up than how a piece of mylar paper wadded up in your fist unfolds when you open your hand. I really couldn't tell how large the wings would become. I almost held my breath, hoping it would be a normal butterfly! The bulk in the abdomen also was slowly redistributed, as the butterfly's body elongated and fit more neatly between the wings. See how chubby the butterfly still is in the first two of these pictures? There was no sign fo that bulge by the time the wings were completely open.
Blogger has decided that I've got enough photos in this post, so I'll rearrange and upload a few more later. This whole thing was fascinating and I'm delighted to share it with you. Yesterday two more emerged, the one under the lip of the catnip planter and one from the day lilies. I couldn't spend as much time out there but I did check in on them and snap a few shots throughout the day.
I've learned that there are some home-schoolers who are using this blog to track the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly, which is unbelievably cool. This is the sort of thing that Moogie (my mom) made sure we knew and understood. My family members all have a strong scientific curiousity about the world around us, and it does make life more interesting. Enjoy!
Hugs,
Liddy |
posted by Liddy Midnight @ 9:19 AM  |
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| 10 Comments: |
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Love the pictures and story to go along with the butterflies Liddy. I have a theory that the wings were in the butterflies pouch and as they came out it got skinnier,lol. Thanks for sharing a little bit of the nature's beauty.
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Thanks, Dena! It was fun taking the photos and putting together the step-by-step description. (Although I suspect that repeatedly squatting in front of the chrysalis is why my back has been quite painful since Tuesday morning! Everything has a price...)
Not sure if your theory is correct, but it's as good as any other I've heard. LOL
There are still 8 caterpillars out there, munching away on the bits and pieces that are left of the leaves. I wonder if they'll get to transform before frost. At least they're all pretty big, and will likely pupate soon.
Hugs,
Liddy
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Hello Liddy,
WoW loved your story and the picture's to go with it. I always loved butterflies they are so gorgeous. When I was a little girl I used to always chase them and try to catch them. never got lucky *G* I saw one the other day that flew passed me and was beautiful. I need to really start carrying my digital camera around. I would love to have some picture's to share with you of butterflies I see :-) Thank You for sharing the butterfly story and the wonderful picture's.
Hugssss
Linda.H.
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Thanks, Ali!
They look like aliens when they first emerge. Good thing they're very small. LOL
Hugs,
Liddy
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Linda, you should carry your camera around with you. You never know when you might see something you want to keep as more than a memory. And pictures can be worth money to newspapers and television stations, sometimes quite a bit of moolah.
So far, I've just photographed things of no value in the yard. :sigh: But they're interesting to me.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, everyone!
Hugs,
Liddy
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Wow-so beautiful, Liddy! Thanks for sharing these pics!
Eden/Lisa
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Love the pics! You're so lucky to have gotten them. Post more soon!
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LOL, LLL. Glad to know I caused you to lose your Blogger virginity. What's the next one to go, MySpace? Just remember that you can pick up some nasty malware in those pix, so be sure to run virus and adware protection on your machine after each visit.
Hugs,
Liddy
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Hey, Eden/Lisa, nice of you to stop by!
I just met two deadlines, so I'll be blogging regularly again. Life has a way of interfering with our plans, doesn't it?
Hugs,
Liddy
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Love the pictures and story to go along with the butterflies Liddy. I have a theory that the wings were in the butterflies pouch and as they came out it got skinnier,lol. Thanks for sharing a little bit of the nature's beauty.