I debated whether to intervene or not, regarding the Monarch Butterfly chrysalis. The weather here in Houston was very cold this past week, so I decided to bring this monarch inside about a week ago. I tied some thread to the chrysalis and placed it inside a small 15x15x15 cube photo box I had. I am not sure if it will survive, but it does appear to be darkening slowly which would be a sign that it was getting ready to emerge. I noticed more detail today of its wings. Granted it has been over a month now since it began the pupa stage but January was cold and perhaps it slowed down its transformation. I do hope this little one makes it. I have a larger photo cube 30x30x30 where I plan to keep it until the weather warms a bit. A few blooming plants from the nursery should provide enough nectar, but if not, I have found some websites detailing how to feed them if necessary.
Great macros !
I hope that he/she will make it !
Me too. I feel responsible now for it’s survival…. since I brought it in.
Looks very healthy to me, good luck and great photos.
Thanks. I hope so. 🙂
Hi Jackie, Beautiful shots of your chrysalis ward. I hope it is OK! Are those brown streaks within the pupa? I do hope not. I am not sure if I can tell correctly from the photos. A month is a long time . . . The last shot . . . shows what looks like brown coloring . . . it does not look quite right to me . . . not healthy. I hope I am wrong but this reminds me of one I had once that was sick. Oh, I do hope I am being fooled by the photo. You can hold it up to the light and see what might be going on inside. You have a clear casing there . . . if it is healthy you will see some black not brown and a bit of orange too I should think. I wish the Monarch well!!
Carol,
I am concerned. It has been a long time and the casing is still very green. I tried to look more closely with a magnying glass and I do not see any orange yet. It has been in the warm house over a week now and there has been very little change. It is has died… what should I expect to see?
See the photograph from today – notice the wings and color changing???
https://jackiedelia.com/change-today-i-see-orange/
If we leave a monarch chrysalis outside, what is the coldest temperature it can handle, and still survive? We live in MN, and it’s supposed to freeze overnight, tonight, so we are debating bringing the chrysalis inside for the night.
Hi Ellyn – I would bring it in. See this post Monarch Chrysalis Cold Outside