Butterflies on Fuerteventura

[Tardis]

The Monarch chrysalis on the left changed from a caterpillar to a chrysalis about 12 days ago.  You can see the wings forming inside and it will emerge as a butterfly within 24 hours.  

The caterpillar on the right has just arrived and is preparing to change into a chrysalis.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

The last of my current crop of caterpillars went into a J shape today. I've not seen one pupa despite hours spent looking but I have had several Monarch butterflies flitting around the garden the last couple of days - home grown or immigrants? who knows   

I had a total of 10 caterpillars grow large and disappear, hopefully to pupate. They decimated one small, one medium and half a good sized milkweed. The plant with oleander bug problems didn't attract any so after days of squashing the bugs by hand I resorted to a good spray of Neem today. The decimated plants I intend to cut right back and feed, hopefully to get some more good growth this year. The seedlings only have 4 or 8 leaves at this stage. I'm going to net all the plants to dissuade butterflies from laying more eggs in the near future - the plants just aren't up to it. Better for the butterflies to find some plants elsewhere.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

9am this morning, little if no change. I squashed a couple of soldier bugs that looked interested:


Went out, got back about 3pm, the change was complete!


Looked online re possible predators:

[*]Assassin bugs feast on monarch caterpillars
[*]Birds 
[*]Chalcid Wasps (monarch chrysalis parasite)
[*]Lizards
[*]Mice will eat chrysalides
[*]Spined Soldier Bug- Predatory Stink Bugs
[*]Toads
[*]Tachinid flies (monarch caterpillar parasite)
[*]trichogramma wasps (monarch egg parasite)

No wonder less than 2% survive in nature!

[Tardis]

Here’s a video from our garden of a Monarch butterfly caterpillar as it metamorphoses into a chrysalis.  To keep the video short, one scene is at twice normal speed.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10uI6LZk...sp=sharing

[Can the Man]

Brilliant Tardis, thank you for this.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Brilliant Tardis, thank you for this.

Plus 1 

[windermeregolfer]

Brilliant Tardis, thank you for this.

Plus 1 

Plus 2 💖💖

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Delighted to see the first of my current crop of Monarchs emerge from the chrysalid today - purely by chance when I was watering and spotted a flash of colour in the neighbouring plant. Others may have emerged previously this week that I haven't spotted but I've been checking the whole garden twice a day just in case.

I think it's a female due to the lack of black spots on the rear wings.

  the empty chrysalid is visible as well.



The caterpillar had travelled a fair old distance to get from the milkweed to this plant to pupate including going down a 1M lava rock wall!

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Second Monarch emerged today, male this time. Spent from late morning to evening expanding it's wings and going for short walks on it's twig in the shrub. Next thing I knew a sparrow flew past with the butterfly in it's beak! I was not amused and chased the sparrow across the garden giving it some verbal, a waste of effort I know, but I was just so incensed.  

  

[Tardis]

That’s awful about the Sparrow. 

At long last I’ve been able to video a Monarch butterfly emerging from a chrysalis.  The Weather conditions were not great. Overcast and extremely windy.  To hold the branch steady, I had to strap it to a spare tripod with velcro!

Here's a link to the video:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qEWpsvx...sp=sharing