The Monarch
Click here for a video presentation on how to find monarch eggs and caterpillars in the right habitat in Northern Utah and the Intermountain West.
Click on any image to start slide show.-
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Monarch Fifth Instar Caterpillar
Here is a picture of a monarch fifth instar caterpillar on milkweed.
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Monarch Fifth Instar Caterpillar
Here is a photo of a monarch fifth instar caterpillar taken by William Zittrich.
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Monarch Prepupa
When a last instar monarch caterpillar is through feeding, it will seek out a spot to form a chrysalis. It accomplishes this by attaching itself either to a leaf, stem, or elsewhere using silk to create what we call a cremaster. Once it sheds its skin, it will form its chrysalis. Photo courtesy Nicky Davis.
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Caterpillar Pupates
Nicky Davis takes a great photo of a caterpillar shedding its skin for the last time (pupating) as it starts to form its chrysalis.
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Monarch Pupa
Monarch pupa. Photo courtesy Nicky Davis.
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Attach pupa to lid of emergence container
Once your monarch prepupa has formed a chrysalis, cut around the milkweed it pupated on attach to the lid of an emergence container.
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Monarch Emergence Container
To emerge your adult monarch, select a plastic tub or margarine tub that is big enough to hold your adult monarch. Remember to have paper towel taped or glued around the sides so that the butterfly walk around and have room to dry its wings.
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Monarch Wings
As the chrysalis develops into an adult butterfly, you can see the wings of the butterfly showing through the pupal shell. This butterfly is only a few hours away from emerging. Place container in a dark closet to minimize how much the butterfly flies once it emerges. Photo courtesy Nicky Davis.
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Healthy Monarch Female Emerges
Once the beautiful adult butterfly emerges, it takes roughly 6 hours for wings to expand and harden so that the butterfly can fly. All photos provided by Nicky Davis.
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Monarch Adult Butterflies
Monarch adult butterflies. Photo courtesy William Zittrich. William's website is http://www.wyllz.com/id177.htm.
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Males vs. Female Monarch Butterflies
Photo taken by William Zittrich showing the differences in the wing markings of a male vs. a female monarch. The male has two pheromone pouches and a thinner wing venation as compared to a female. William's website is http://www.wyllz.com/id177.htm.
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