"Houston, We Have Lift Off!"

"

New Butterfly Next To the Chrysalis

I went out to look at the three Monarch butterfly chrysalises today before lunch and found that the first one had just hatched out.  I couldn't believe it at first, and then ran back into the house shouting, "It's hatching, it's hatching!"  The newly hatched butterfly was clinging to the branch next to the tattered remains of the chrysalis.

Cindy came out and we watched as it began to flex and dry its wings and get used to being out of the chrysalis.  It's truly amazing that a butterfly that size can come out of a chrysalis less than an inch long and about half an inch wide.

The new butterfly's body alone is about twice the length of the chrysalis.  I'm not surprised that it takes it a couple of hours to unfold itself and get used to its new size and its new wings. We watched it unfold and flex the wings, rest for a while, then try it again.

After lunch we watched the new butterfly take its first short flight to a nearby Bush Germander (Teucrium fruiticans) where it continued the process of getting used to the new wings and started to explore the world of plants.  We watched in amazement; it's really true that if you plant a garden, it will grow on you.

Getting Used to Plants

Watching the butterfly make her first short, wobbly flights reminded me of a teenager with her learner's permit--getting there, but not quite ready for the big time, yet.  She frightened us by flying across the street to the neighbors' yard and then landing smack in the middle of the street to continue the wing stretching and resting process.

After watching this creature from caterpillar to chrysalis to new butterfly, I wasn't about to let her get run over by the first car that came along, so Cindy and I stood out in the middle of the street to encourage cars to go around.  The first lady that came by was quite understanding and enjoyed watching with us, but the next car that came along just wanted us to get the hell out of the street, but did go around us.

Ready to Fly!

Then our new Monarch flew off down the street toward other neighbors' gardens.  But we think she'll be back when she wants to lay her eggs--after all, we've got all that milkweed (Asclepia) leafing out to start the process all over.