Sent on February 18th 2022 from a member on Arcadia Way near our Sanctuary!
What an exciting day we had! About a month ago, we noticed a caterpillar on a low wall in our front yard. I have just four milkweed plants in the front flower garden. Fast forward to today. We got to witness the butterfly preparing to fly. It took awhile, but we saw it fly away to a nearby fern bush. We later came back and it was gone. These are the photos!!
Click on photos to see description
Butterfly Video - Click on Photo to play
Makes a strong silk thread and hangs upside down in a J shape
Becomes a glorious green chrysalis for eighteen days
Monarch butterfly crawled our of the case
Resting on rocks before attempting to fly
Flew into potted fern and stayed there during the cold February night
Monarch butterfly crawled our of the case
Feeding on milkweed before taking flight over my house