Posts Tagged: pupal case

California Wild Fires Raging...but Life Cycles Go On...

As those horrendous wild fires continue to rage throughout California, as Cal Fire helicopters roar over, as residents scramble from their homes,  as smoke thickens the air, and as ashes flutter down like feathers, it's difficult to think about...

A Gulf Fritillary egg on the tendrils of the passionflower vine (Passiflora). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary egg on the tendrils of the passionflower vine (Passiflora). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary caterpillar continues to munch the Passiflora leaves. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary caterpillar continues to munch the Passiflora leaves. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary clings to its pupal case. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary clings to its pupal case. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In the eerie light of the smoke-choked sky and reddish sun, a newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary spreads its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In the eerie light of the smoke-choked sky and reddish sun, a newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary spreads its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It Happens: Nature Isn't Perfect

If you engage in a mini-monarch conservation project, you know the joy of watching the egg-caterpillar-chrysalis-adult transformation. It's one of Nature's miracles. Then when you release the monarchs and watch them soar high, awkwardly fluttering their...

A monarch chrysalis, cannibalized by a hungry caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch chrysalis, cannibalized by a hungry caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

From a chrysalis to a pupal case--now where's the monarch? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

From a chrysalis to a pupal case--now where's the monarch? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's a girl, but she has a deformed wing.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's a girl, but she has a deformed wing.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Newly eclosed, but deformed, monarch clings to a milkweed, Asclepias speciosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Newly eclosed, but deformed, monarch clings to a milkweed, Asclepias speciosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Perfect from this angle! This is her best side, truly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Perfect from this angle! This is her best side, truly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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