Transformations

It really is incredible to think that after two short weeks in a chrysalis a caterpillar transforms itself into a butterfly! Amazing really- think how handy that skill might be for us mere humans....


My Swallowtail adventures are coming to a close. My many chrysalides have dwindled in numbers as day after day butterflies emerge. Our first gal showed up on Wednesday morning two weeks ago. I promptly named her Tuesday (clearly I did not had enough coffee and was confused). Tuesday was followed by a butterfly a day until Sunday, when three emerged. We named them Sunday, Sunday and Sunday.


Since then we have had butterflies everyday, except two. They almost always emerge in the morning, although we did have one tardy fellow come out after dark. He was our sixth butterfly that day. He was named Saturday just like his siblings Saturday, Saturday Saturday.. well you get the picture.



As the transformation nears completion the chrysalides start to turn from an opaque green or brown to a translucent covering. You can see the wing pattern through the sides. Keeping my camera handy I was able to get a few shots of this guy just as he started crawling out.

They look a bit scary when they first emerge as their wings are all scrunched up. If you ever raise caterpillar or take care of a chrysalis it is important for the newly emerged butterfly to have something vertical to climb on. They like the underside of inclined sticks the best. This position helps them as they pump fluid from their swollen thoraxes to their wings to help them unfurl. The fluid and gravity do the trick in about 2 short minutes. Sadly, we had a couple of tragedies. Without gravity their wings become a floppy mess and they start to shred as they try to crawl around. I had read somewhere that the kindest way to put a butterfly out of it's misery was to put it in the freezer. That was a sad task I performed twice:(


While their wings are unfurling and drying they amuse themselves with their proboscis. They uncurl it and recurl it, over and over. It's really pretty cute and I can just imagine what they are thinking. "Wow, this butterfly thing is pretty cool but what in the world is stuck to my face?!"



These butterflies are all my babies. They are Eastern Swallowtails and I captured their photos with my new digital SLR:).

With about 10 chrysalides left, I have to say I'm about over it for this year.

I have one monarch butterfly caterpillar that I brought inside and he should be about ready to form his chrysalis soon and then my caterpillar days will be over this year. Every time I see a Swallowtail in the yard I know it's Monday or some other day of the week saying hello to me!

What is the plural of Chysalis?

Chrysalises is grammatically correct but I can't say that without feeling like I'm lisping! Chrysalides is also correct and makes me sound much more like a nature geek~ which, lately, I kind of like. Here is a shot of my numerous Swallowtail chrysalides.

Okay, I realize there is something inherently creepy about the sheer number of butterfly chrysalides here (they even wiggle sometimes!). But I choose to just see the butterfly potential here.

It is kind of cool when they are ready to shed their caterpillar skin for the last time and show off their chrysalis. They make themselves a little strap to keep from falling off the stick. Below are before and after shots.



Finally, my last baby caterpillar is almost ready to form his chysalis~ sniff. I must say that I am kind of relieved though. You wouldn't believe how much these little guys eat! I have almost picked my herb pot clean of parsley. The dill and fennel are long gone. And, as much as I love my creepy critters I'm not heading to the grocery store to buy parsley, dill or fennel!

Then... while aimlessly wandering my yard the other day I found more babies! This time I found monarch butterfly "1st instar" caterpillars on my milk weed! I just know they are grandchildren of my very first monarch, Tootsie Roll!


One more caterpillar tale. Okay, really, this is the last part. I found my dog trying to eat this strange looking guy! (BTW- Dogs will eat anything- that's why you should never let them lick your face!) At first, I thought he was a different variety of swallowtail but after close inspection (the little pointy thing on his butt gave him away) I determined he is a sphinx moth caterpillar. Even though he is really cool I set him free. It seems I've become a butterfly caterpillar snob!

~Amy- the nature geek~

Summertime Science

Amy here- My kids think I've brought caterpillars into their lives over many summers because I'm trying to give them a science lesson. The truth is that I just think they are cool. We are constantly pulling out our Audubon Field Guides trying to identify cool beetles or freaky skinks.

Early in the summer, a large mixed herb planter that I picked up at a garden center held many (and I mean many) surprises for us. One day we noticed some caterpillars eating the fennel. The next day there were no less than 10. The planter was on my deck and, sadly, a bird could not believe it's luck and picked them all off one day. After a few more days we had more caterpillars though (and they kept coming). I decided to save these from the fate of their earlier siblings (cousins?) and brought them inside in a large plastic jar. In the photo below there are probably about 15-20 cater pillars in the jar.

After they hatch the are teeny tiny.


Having raised Painted Lady's and Monarch caterpillars we knew it was pretty easy to keep caterpillars alive. All they want is food. They eat and sleep for about 2 weeks until they get to about the size of the 'pillar in the photo at the top of the page.


After a bit of research we determined that we had Anise Swallowtail caterpillars. They are somewhat picky eaters liking fennel, parsley, dill and anise (and a couple of other plants I can't seem to find around here.

More caterpillar craziness to come!

We're on Vacation -As You Might Have Guessed

Our lack of blogging has been conspicuous. As summer vacation started so did our ability to keep up with the blog. So here is an update and then a formal declaration that we are "On Vacation".

I packed our bags and the kids and I headed off to Washington State to visit Erin and her family. An effortless day of flying left us tired but glad to be here. Erin is slowly recovering from her surgery and so is thankful for all of your thoughts, prayers and well wishes. So, here we are ready to kick back for a few weeks. (You may have noticed that we even put our Etsy shop in vacation mode!) Have a great summer! ~Amy

Miscellany Moment

Amy here with a few quick updates. Our Personalized Key Chain was featured in Tidewater Parent. The article, by Kristen De Deyn Kirk, featured gift ideas for Father's Day. Thanks for the feature Kristen!

If you are in Chesapeake tomorrow stop by Natural Elements Spa and say hello. I will be their first featured artist of the month and will have my wares set up in their movement studio from 10-5 PM.

Moose on the Loose

Erin here-

Last Saturday night we had the pictured visitor roaming through our neighborhood. The excitement in the air rivaled the first sighting of the ice cream truck. The Fish and Game wardens had their work cut out for them as they were trying to herd the moose back to the river while dealing with all the moose gawkers. (We live about a half mile from the Little Spokane River.) In the de-brief the day after everyone had to laugh at how many people were home and that this was the most excitement any of us had seen in weeks!

Creative Outlet

Amy here- I've been having fun using the tools and techniques I picked up at Art and Soul. Thanks to my class with Lisa Kaus I was able to make this little piece of art for my friend Linda who passed over to the dark side. Welcome Linda!

Here's a look at the work-in-progress. The base is a 5 x 7" canvas panel from Dick Blick.

I love to learn new techniques!