Hasta la vista, las mariposas!

Three years ago I noticed a weed growing fairly prolifically in our backyard. And then I noticed the green, black and white caterpillars on the weed. A little research revealed that they were Monarch caterpillars on milkweed. Those caterpillars morph into beautiful orange, black and white butterflies and then fly to Mexico for the winter, then migrate back north in the spring.
That first year I only saw one chrysalis, in late fall. But last year I helped the milkweed flourish by putting up a couple of trellises for it to grow on, and we had an abundance of the plants. And we had an abundance of Monarch caterpillars. For several weeks Lindsay and I could count many caterpillars – several days we found as many as seven. And I found many of their chrysalises also. One day last year three butterflies emerged from their chrysalis on the same day. I liked to imagine that they all traveled to their wintering spots in Mexico together.
Unfortunately this year some other bugs attacked the milkweed and it hasn’t thrived in any of its spots in the yard. There have only been a few caterpillars too. A couple of weeks ago I finally spotted a chrysalis, hanging under the house eaves behind the garage.
Still, after seeing all these caterpillars change into butterflies, I had never seen one actually coming out of its chrysalis. Until two mornings ago.
I let the dogs outside and I went out to look at the chrysalis. The butterfly was slipping out of the chrysalis. I ran inside to get Lindsay and to get my camera. When I came back outside a few minutes later, the butterfly was already out of the chrysalis, plumping up its wings.
I watched and took photos as the butterfly worked on the last step of its metamorphosis from a crawling creature to one that would fly thousands of miles. When Lindsay and I went inside after playing, its wings were puffed out to their full size.
I went back outside in the afternoon and looked for the butterfly. At first I thought it had left, but then I saw it resting on a nearby milkweed vine. I grabbed my camera again and took photos of it when it spread its wings. Within a few minutes the butterfly fluttered into the air and landed in a sunny spot in our neighbor’s yard. I’m sure it took off soon after that to begin its long journey south.