It fluttered by. All Change!

Posted on by Ark

Was out of bed early this morning … 5:30 … and after making a coffee and pottering about for a bit I went into my office and was greeted by this …

Having emerged from its cocoon not long before this shot was taken.

I coaxed it from the plastic container, and it eagerly climbed onto my hand then crawled up my arm, its wings still damp and somewhat floppy.

I then encouraged it onto my left arm so I could get the camera and take a few shots.

After a minute or two allowing it to get its bearings I wandered to one of the lemon trees and it moved onto a leaf,

where it hung until its wings were dry and strong enough for it to take flight.

One down, six more caterpillars to go!

 

Ark.

 

 

 

19 thoughts on “It fluttered by. All Change!”

  2. It’s like a beautiful alien creature from another planet, that somehow made it to Earth to grace us with its presence.

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    1. ,and then metamorphosed again, established themselves as overlords and traded limited freedom for the handing over of Christians and Muslims for food.
      😉

      You have entered the Twilight Zone.

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      1. Nothing wrong with the Twilight Zone … you should try living anywhere in Southland, but Invercargill especially. (Beam me up, Scottie … there’s intelligent life down here but it’s all dogs …)

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    1. Can’t find exact figures but according to Wiki, on average the Swallowtails live around a month to five weeks.
      In contrast, the Painted Lady can live up to 12 months.

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      2. Proves the confirmation that builders gave a long time ago to ladies … paint is a great preservative.

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  4. Isn’t it exciting to go through that? I’ve nursemaided monarchs and it’s amazing to watch them unfold, and streeeetttch and suddenly stagger off on their first flight. These are marvelous images…

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    1. Thank you, Judy.
      Yes, the experience is wonderful and I feel honoured to have been part of it – and also extending the life of a few caterpillars that might otherwise have been eaten.

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    2. Judy:

      the cute little buggers are not to be sniffed at. They might look a bit flimsy but they can fly awesome long distances—for a long time nobody knew where they wintered over until a valley in Mexico (?) was discovered with wall-to-wall butterfluffs (I believe it is now several valleys but don’t quote me on that). I read that some cross oceans, too …

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