Monarch Chrysalis

One day I knelt down to pull a weed in my garden. I glanced into a peony bush. I saw this chrysalis. I knew right away it was a monarch chrysalis.

Here are the clues:

1. Bright green

2. Smooth

3. Small gold metallic flecks in a line about 1/3 of the way down from the attachment (cremaster).

It was raining lightly. I was a worried that it would harm the chrysalis. I did not disturb it.

19. How do you think the color of the monarch's chrysalis helps it to survive?

I have been looking for chrysalis on milkweeds for several years. I have never found one on them. The caterpillars appear to seek refuge on a different kind of plant before they pupate.

Anatomy of a pupa. off site

At the right is a photo of a monarch chrysalis that I spied in August 2006.

It is attached to the siding on my home.
It is about 12 feet off the ground!

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Watch a caterpillar change to a pupa. 10 MB. It will take a few minutes to open this movie. It is real time - 5 minute long.

To view the movie you must have the QuickTime Player installed. It is available from Apple for free at http://www.apple.com/QuickTime/download/ both Mac and PC versions.