Okay, waiting for this Orange-Barred Sulphur to come out is boring. And as all my teachers and bosses can tell you, a bored Melanie is not a good Melanie.
But I thought this could be a lesson on chrysalises! Because I've also been meaning to take a picture of my Long-Tailed Skipper (not named after me or my family, sadly) that is somehow still in its chrysalis. When did that thing go in? Feels like it's been a while. Ah shoot, the Sulphur is emerging! Back in a minute!
Okay, lots of pictures to share now. But first, people always ask how to tell when a butterfly is going to emerge. Most of them make it easy on you. The chrysalis thins and you can actually see the wing pattern. That's how I can tell I had a male Orange-Barred Sulphur. I can see his orange bar through the chrysalis. But also, you see where the body is there are like "rings" around the chrysalis. Those tend to show up before the butterfly comes out. I think it's because the body has come loose from the chrysalis. And in Sulphurs, sometimes you can see that weird tip (the pointy end) move a little before it comes out.
Now, the Long-Tailed Skipper is a little different. They pupate inside a nest, kind of like a moth. Remember how the Skippers were the first to break off from the moths - I submit more evidence. But they do make a little girdle like butterflies tend to. You can see the silk in the first picture. Now, I can't figure out how they do this, but Long-Tailed Skippers powder themselves when they make a chrysalis. I have no idea how or why they do this. I mean, the chrysalis is basically another "skin" they shed into so how does this powder appear? What is it for? It doesn't even last because you can see how it rubs right off on my hand. I can't imagine it lasting through a good rain. Maybe it's supposed to look like leaf fungus or mold? All opinions welcome. Anyway, his leaf nest had a regular mold problem, so I tore him free and he is now in the pupation chamber (which I've decided sounds cooler than pupation container).
Now for that Orange-Barred Sulphur. You have to put up with the dim light from my lamp since I didn't have a chance to turn on the overhead light. Not that it would have helped much. So here's a bunch of pictures, in chronological order, of it emerging.
Want to see something super trippy? Open the last picture and run them backward so it looks like the butterfly is going back in the chrysalis. I just did it and I think I made myself dizzy. Okay, let's go outside now where the lighting is better. Still a little wrinkled, but look at the orange bars across the top wings. That's where they got the name! Doesn't quite work for the females, but maybe whoever discovered it found a male specimen first?
Another look at the orange bar and the meconium it leaked on me. I've never had children (thank goodness) but I hear meconium is also what they call the stuff that comes out of human children when they're born. I made the mistake of Googling it once and Google images reminded me why I'm glad I don't have children.
I just like the angle of this picture.
I love the scalloping on the wings. You don't really get to appreciate that when they fly by at light speed. I think I heard one break the sound barrier once.
You know, Chuck Yeager (who was the first human to break the sound barrier) is from Lincoln County, WV where my Dad is from and where I'm always talking about when I mention Grandma. He used to fly his plane under bridges and generally harass his neighbors in the area. They're all proud of him though and there are lots of things named for him in the area. They have a Chuck Yeager day every year but I think they hold it in a different county where they actually have enough infrastructure to hold a proper celebration. I cannot stress how rural Lincoln County is, folks. Good for butterflying, though. Lots of trees and wilderness.
Since I knew this was a male, I was trying to look at his boy parts and see if I could see the claspers. What do you think? (And don't answer that I'm a butterfly perv.)
This is all in the name of science!
Now I hear some horsies are going to run in a circle before the hockey game starts. Better check that out...
