Monarch Caterpillar transformation


Posted by Cynthia Crawford on Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:04 am

All times are UTC-05:00

Reply to topic  
 First unread post  | 12 posts | 
Image
D750, Sigma 150 macro,  1/60, f/7.1, ISO 1600

This was taken indoors in my caterpillar/butterfly aquarium. The caterpillar first glued itself to a stick, then wriggled in a "j" form for 8-10 hours. Finally it went limp -straightened out, and withing 4 minutes made this remarkable transformation into a chrysalis. This picture shows how it split it's skin and is about half-way into the process. The whole process can be seen in a video here:
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=284852&p=2599110#p2599110

I have the utmost respect for these creatures and their journey-I am still amazed at what I saw and look forward to the new birth. This caterpillar was in my yard- it lived indoors for only a day before getting to this stage.
Cynthia (Cindy) Crawford-Moderator, Photo & Digital Art
web site: http://www.creaturekinships.net
"If I Keep a Green Bough in My Heart, the Singing Bird Will Come"  Chinese Proverb

User avatar
Posted by:
Cynthia Crawford
Moderator
Location: Vermont
Member #:00733
Posts: 20371
Joined: 10 Jun 2006

   

by Craig Lipski on Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:13 am
User avatar
Craig Lipski
Forum Contributor
Posts: 4792
Joined: 20 Aug 2003
Location: The bustling metropolis of Fowlerville, Michigan, and the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley
Member #:00495
Very cool! Personally, I’d crop a bit from the top to remove the machined lumber and just leave the natural looking twig if I were going to print, but here it just contributes to your narrative. Great shot!
 

by Cynthia Crawford on Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:42 am
User avatar
Cynthia Crawford
Moderator
Posts: 20371
Joined: 10 Jun 2006
Location: Vermont
Member #:00733
Craig Lipski wrote:Very cool!  Personally, I’d crop a bit from the top to remove the machined lumber and just leave the natural looking twig if I were going to print, but here it just contributes to your narrative.  Great shot!
Thanks Craig. The other piece of wood is just a stick of bamboo-not really machined, though it may look that way.
Cynthia (Cindy) Crawford-Moderator, Photo & Digital Art
web site: http://www.creaturekinships.net
"If I Keep a Green Bough in My Heart, the Singing Bird Will Come"  Chinese Proverb
 

by Cynthia Crawford on Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:44 am
User avatar
Cynthia Crawford
Moderator
Posts: 20371
Joined: 10 Jun 2006
Location: Vermont
Member #:00733
P.S. Forgot to mention I did clone out some green tape that was supporting the stick....
Cynthia (Cindy) Crawford-Moderator, Photo & Digital Art
web site: http://www.creaturekinships.net
"If I Keep a Green Bough in My Heart, the Singing Bird Will Come"  Chinese Proverb
 

by Mike in O on Wed Aug 21, 2019 11:23 am
Mike in O
Forum Contributor
Posts: 2673
Joined: 22 Dec 2013
Fun...used to put Mourning Cloak caterpillars butterflies into jars to watch the transformation when I was a kid.
 

by Ron Day on Wed Aug 21, 2019 3:40 pm
User avatar
Ron Day
Lifetime Member
Posts: 17817
Joined: 5 Sep 2003
Member #:00819
Cindy, wonderful job of capturing the transformation. Very informative, and can't wait to see the Monarch.
 

by Carol Clarke on Wed Aug 21, 2019 3:53 pm
User avatar
Carol Clarke
Chief Forum Administrator
Posts: 73064
Joined: 22 Aug 2003
Location: Lincolnshire, UK. In tune with Nature.
Member #:00067
I just watched your video in the video forum, fascinating and it looks like an incredible effort for the caterpillar! Well done on all counts, Cindy!

Carol.
Carol Clarke
Chief Forum Administrator.


"When the power of love is greater than the love of power,
the world will know peace"....Jimi Hendrix.

NSN0067
 

by cwdavis on Wed Aug 21, 2019 4:27 pm
cwdavis
Forum Contributor
Posts: 312
Joined: 28 Dec 2005
This is a very neat project, Cindy,
Many thanks for sharing, especially the video. It's hard to believe that the caterpillar is literally digesting itself as it shortens and forms the chrysalis, yet a beautiful adult will eventually emerge!
Bill
C William Davis
Chapel Hill, NC
 

by Tom Whelan on Wed Aug 21, 2019 9:24 pm
User avatar
Tom Whelan
Moderator
Posts: 30109
Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Location: Lexington, MA
Member #:00293
Beautiful image - what an exciting moment!
Tom

http://www.whelanphoto.com Portraits and Abstracts (web site)
http://tomwhelan.wordpress.com/ Nature Diary (blog)
 

by rhighercat on Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:01 pm
rhighercat
Forum Contributor
Posts: 316
Joined: 12 Sep 2018
Location: Madison, WI
Beautiful image and a great story. The video shows this incredible process of transformation. I am surprised it didn't fall off the stick through this laborious process! Looking forward to more.
 

by Cynthia Crawford on Thu Aug 22, 2019 5:21 am
User avatar
Cynthia Crawford
Moderator
Posts: 20371
Joined: 10 Jun 2006
Location: Vermont
Member #:00733
rhighercat wrote:Beautiful image and a great story. The video shows this incredible process of transformation. I am surprised it didn't fall off the stick through this laborious process! Looking forward to more.
Thanks! I guess they use pretty good "glue". :)  It reminds me of spider web.
Cynthia (Cindy) Crawford-Moderator, Photo & Digital Art
web site: http://www.creaturekinships.net
"If I Keep a Green Bough in My Heart, the Singing Bird Will Come"  Chinese Proverb
 

by Swissblad on Sat Aug 31, 2019 7:45 pm
User avatar
Swissblad
Forum Contributor
Posts: 2434
Joined: 17 Jun 2016
Lovely image and amazing video documentary.

Look forward to seeing the butterflies emerge next spring.
 

Display posts from previous:  Sort by:  
12 posts | 

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group