One of them climbs up a Spanish bayonet in our front garden. It began to create its chrysalis about 7:00 PM. When I woke the next morning, the caterpillar was almost ready to begin metamorphis. At about 9:00 AM, it pulled the last part of its chrysalis up over itself. I took a photograph just before I went to bed, and then when I woke.
I'm awed. The chrysalis looks like an emerald with a circle of gold dots at the top. The caterpillar will liquidate and transform its being into a butterfly.
A few weeks later the chrysalis became transparent. That means the butterfly is ready to emerge. I watched as the butterfly pulled its body out.
It took about 30 minutes for the monarch's wings to dry and fly to the flowers to nourish itself with nectar while pollinating flowers. I plant a diverse array of flowers in my garden for butterflies. Here's a list of plants if you want to attract butterflies.
