13 May 2014

A Black Swallowtail Emerged


I had no idea.  I spent the day catching up on (some of the) dishes, working on ScriptureTyper memory verses, and prepping the garden for a predicted two to four inches of rain.  The rains haven't come down so much that the floods started coming up, though, so it has been a pretty quiet day, severe weather warnings notwithstanding.  I was thinking the day had been progressing all along without fanfare.

EXCEPT.  One thing.

When my husband came home?  He took a look at the chrysalises, and found this beauty of a black male swallowtail already out in the world.

See the green chrysalis below him on the stick?  It shouldn't be long before we have five more of these gorgeous creatures.


I'm not one to buy clothes that only have the design going half way around them--a waist band only on the front, a pattern on one half of the sweater but not on the back, that kind of thing.  I guess that makes me enjoy that this guy has patterns on both sides of his wings all the more.


See how wide his wing span is?  Just about four inches--the wings in this photo are not quite open all the way.  It's just one of the most amazing things to see a chrysalis in its compact smallness, and imagine that only hours before this smooth-winged, large creature was somehow cramped up inside of it, and still came out so perfectly.

What a great thing to happen on a Tuesday, wouldn't you say?

2 comments:

  1. I would be worried about having them flying around inside your house -- delightful as that might be! How soon will you let them outside?

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    Replies
    1. They are in enclosed containers, with air coming through...so having him fly around the house wasn't TOO much of a problem! I let him outside this morning, so we'll see if we get to continue watching him fly around!

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