I've moved on to the Elkton Community Education Center in Elkton, OR where the WINs have a gathering each year. My favorite part of the center is the Butterfly House. They release the butterflies on Labor Day, so I hurried up to get some pictures.
They have a few Painted Ladies, but most of the butterflies are Monarchs.
Monarchs begin as this tiny, tiny egg, laid on milkweed.
After 4 days or so, a very hungry caterpillar emerges.
The caterpillar in only the size of an eyelash to start with, but eats and eats the yummy milkweed for 2 weeks, until it is 2 inches long and pretty plump.
In the process of all this eating, it sheds its skin 5 times.
After the 2 weeks of eating, the caterpillar hangs from a branch and turns itself into a beautiful jade-colored crysalis.
Then, after another 10 days of just hanging around, the chrysalis turns clear -
And the adult monarch emerges!
After it dries out, it hurries over to drink some nectar.
And the whole cycle begins all over again. (Look out, Junior is watching!)
I've moved on to the Elkton Community Education Center in Elkton, OR where the WINs have a gathering each year. My favorite part of the center is the Butterfly House. They release the butterflies on Labor Day, so I hurried up to get some pictures.
They have a few Painted Ladies, but most of the butterflies are Monarchs.
Monarchs begin as this tiny, tiny egg, laid on milkweed.
After 4 days or so, a very hungry caterpillar emerges.
The caterpillar in only the size of an eyelash to start with, but eats and eats the yummy milkweed for 2 weeks, until it is 2 inches long and pretty plump.
In the process of all this eating, it sheds its skin 5 times.
After the 2 weeks of eating, the caterpillar hangs from a branch and turns itself into a beautiful jade-colored crysalis.
Then, after another 10 days of just hanging around, the chrysalis turns clear - 
And the adult monarch emerges!
After it dries out, it hurries over to drink some nectar.
And the whole cycle begins all over again. (Look out, Junior is watching!)
