Saturday, May 19, 2012

Butterfly success!

The suspense is finally over. The first of last fall's black swallowtail chrysalids (see here and here for the beginning of this story) is now a gorgeous butterfly!

Interestingly, the first caterpillar to change into chysalis is now the first butterfly.


After the caterpillars became chrysalids last fall, I just couldn't bear abandoning them outside, even to the relative safety of my garden shed. So I kept them inside on my desk all winter, silent little companions.

Then in early April I moved the chrysalids outside onto my back porch. I hoped the still-cool nights and gradually warming days would trigger the metamorphosis. I wired the twigs to an old chair beneath a maple tree, where they'd get late afternoon sun and still be protected from heavy rain.

I worried something could harm the chrysalids, but this was the safest spot I could find.


I've been checking the chrysalids every couple days since then for any sign of change. I had just about given up when two nights ago, I noticed one chrysalis had suddenly turned dark. I'd read that a day before eclosure the chrysalis skin turns translucent and the adult wing colors show through. I was too tired that evening to really think about it, though, let alone get a photo. Indeed, by the next morning I had totally forgotten about it.

When I got home from work in the evening, I started my normal routine of puttering in the garden. Finally though I remembered to go check the chrysalids.  I ambled into the back yard, not really expecting anything. But what a surprise-- the dark chrysalis was now an empty husk, with a beautifully formed butterfly dangling beneath it! I pelted inside to grab my camera, then spent the next forty minutes or so taking a zillion pictures and marveling at the gorgeous insect.

The butterfly flexed its new wings, allowing me to see the dark markings of a female. Pink cigars, anybody?
Tiny barbed feet clung to the old shell of the chrysalis. I wonder how long she hung there before I got home?
It was neat to be so close I could see the texture of  the antennae and the wings.
Almost ready to go...


Just a few short seconds after the last photo, I watched the butterfly climb up to the top of her twig, pause for half a heartbeat, then spread her wings and waft gently away. I lost her in the sunshine, but presume she soared upward to scope out the neighborhood and find a flower full of nectar. I don't have a lot blooming in my garden yet (the flower bed is still under construction) but I know there are plenty of blossoms nearby. My vegetable garden is also full of vigorous dill plants that sprouted from last fall's seeds, so I hope she returns once she has found a mate. I'll be examining the dill closely all summer, hoping I can repeat the cycle!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Winter Flowers

Well, it's been a while since my last post. For those of you who've been wondering, I'm ok, just busy. I'm still in grad school and also got a part-time job this spring. The spring semester just finished, though, so I have a bit of free time at last. Woo-hoo!

As I've mentioned in past entries, this winter was significantly milder than usual. But still, come January and February I was aching for bright flowers. Brookside Gardens to the rescue! The Winter Garden at Brookside Gardens is an outdoor bed that holds lots of super-early blooming flowers. This year apparently things bloomed a couple weeks earlier than usual, but I wasn't complaining!

Japanese flowering apricot (January 14)

Hellebore (January 14)

Witch Hazel (February 10)

Pussywillow!! (February 10)

Winter Aconite (February 10)
Admittedly, few of these early bloomers are native to our area, but sometimes any flower will do!

Today's site: Brookside Gardens, Wheaton MD.

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