Thanks, David. A trip to the Mexican overwintering sites has been on my bucket years for years. Perhaps I should try for the coastal California sites instead. I was in that area a few years ago, but just after the mass of butterflies headed north for the spring.
Dan Matyola *https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery <https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery>* On Sat, Jun 11, 2022 at 2:16 AM David Mann <[email protected]> wrote: > Pretty cool to see them next to each other in different stages. > > There's a spot not far from my place where a small number of Monarchs > spend winter but I haven't seen many there yet. I'll have to keep an eye > out. > > Cheers, > Dave > > > On Jun 11, 2022, at 4:39 PM, Daniel J. Matyola <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > Each Monarch larva goes through five stages of growth, called instars, > > between the time it hatches from the egg until it enters the pupal stage. > > The larva molts at the end of each instar, so that it can grow into the > > next stage. During this process, it eats only milkweed foliage, and grows > > to almost 2,000 times its original mass. > > > > A late fifth instar Monarch will then crawl away from the milkweed plant > it > > was feeding on to find a secure location, where it forms a silk pad and > > hangs upside down in a J shape, before shedding its skin one last time to > > expose the bright green chrysalis. > > > > In this image, the larva on the right has attached its pad to the edge > of a > > clay flower pot, and has drawn itself up into the classic "J" shape. On > > the left is one that has completed the final molt to expose its > bejewelled > > green chrysalis. > > > > > http://dan-matyola.squarespace.com/danmatyolas-pesos/2022/6/11/metamorphosis > > > > K-5 IIs, smc DA 35 mm F 2.8 Macro Limited > > Comments, criticisms, questions, and suggestions are invited and > > appreciated. > > > > Dan Matyola > > *https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery > > <https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery>* > > -- > > %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List > > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. > -- > %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. > -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
