found a wild chrysalis

[psi_chemie]

I found my first wild chrysalis yesterday! I guess I should describe the setting..

The field where I go to tag is about 20 acres or so, as a rough estimate. It's just inside at the outskirts of a metropolitan area, and has three "lakes" in the center. The field could be paved over at any time, because it's an undeveloped lot part of a business park. But right now, it's allowed to go wild. There are several clusters of trees, and some marshy areas, some higher slopey/hilly areas, and a huge variety of birds, insects, butterflies, frogs and even turtles. It's pretty sweet.

There are all kinds of mixed flowers, grasses and scrub. The main nectar source is pink clover, though. Acres of it. And there are also large stretches of sand/blue vine and patches of broad leaved milkweed.

I think monarchs coming from the NW are tired by the time they pass through the city and its sprawl, and as soon as they see this field, with the large ponds, they decend and find a perfect oasis. So there are always plenty of monarchs here, feeding on the clover and roosting in the tree clusters. Sometimes I can stand in one spot and reach 3 or 4 butterlies with my net. I also have to watch I don't tromp on any larvae.

As I'm running through this field, I wonder if I am stepping on larvae and chrysalids. Take a larva on this vine, in the middle of a patch of clover and grasses. The vine is ground hugging, because they have nothing to go up on. So the larva gets ready to pupate, and beings searching for a spot. They must crawl great distances without finding anything to climb up on.

OK, getting to the point, I was walking through grass about a foot high, and I almost stepped on a chrysalis. It was on a few blades of grass that the larvae had webbed together and j-hooked from. The chrysalis had some tiny black spots on the thorax area, so there must be some parisitism in this field. But it looked like it was going to hatch soon..

Anyways, I've noticed a fair amount of adults with slightly deformed wings. There must be a lot emerging from tight spaces in these grasses, and getting wings slightly bent and deformed, but not so much they can't fly well still.

I can just imagine that poor larva searching for a spot. There was no milkweed anywhere near this grass. It must have crawled, and crawled and crawled, finally said to heck with it, and did the best it could with a three blades of grass.

Now I am REALLY careful when I walk around.

[ButterflyLady_IL]

I can find caterpillars and eggs, but the chrysalis in the wild just eludes me. (Maybe I can't see the forest for the trees?)
BUT Saturday, 10/1/05 while cleaning up the vegetable garden, I found a Chrysalis on a wilted tomato stem.
This is a noteworthy day for me.
Congratulations on your find. I imagine you were as excited as I was.

[Orangeaid]

This topic is one thing that haunts me still . Granted this is my first year of rearing and tagging monarchs but with all the milkweed i have looked at you would think that i would find at least one wild Chrysalis. With all the great numbers of monarchs this year and for the amount of time they stay in the Chrysalis you would think that it would be a common experience. Iam glad iam not alone in the frustration and wonderment.

[Sarah]

The trick is not looking at lots of milkweed - it's checking the plants around the milkweed. Most big 5th instar caterpillars wander off to find a sheltered place to make a "j". Check underneath leaves and close to stems of plants around the milkweed. Sometimes the easiest thing to do is to get on your hands & knees and look up through the leaves. They can wander pretty far, so start close to the milkweed patch and check everywhere within 100 feet of the patch. If you have a lot of milkweed close to your house (and you have free-range caterpillars) check underneath eaves and windowsills, on door frames, patio furniture and even your grill.

[lsal]

In southern Vermont this weekend, I went walking through a big meadow with lots of milkweed. Found 7 caterpillars in various stages, happily munching away. But not one chrysallis, which I imagined would be J hooked underneath milkweed leaves. I've read other posts here and am stymied. Does a caterpillar usually descend off the milkweed plant to "hunt for" a tree somewhere to shed into chrysallis? Seems like a long hike! Would love to better understand the chrysallis-making process. Thanks!

[RozieMozie]

this is good to read! ... i've been troping around what im sure is common milkweed for a couple of days and have not seen one chrysalis ... or caterpillars and eggs, but thts a different prob ... its good to know tht its not a common thing to see ... i dont feel too bad now

[Farfalla]

This Monarch was the first (and only) that I have seen emerge "wild" . The chrysalis had gone unnoticed right outside our school playground.
( SMART insect not to venture in! lol) A little boy noticed it emerging and all the children were able to watch it from inside the fence. It was far from the milkweed patch.. in a tangle of lilies & wildflowers. The space was very tight.. I am surprised it made it out alright. But when we went back to check on it after "nap time".. it was gone. It is amazing that it did not suffer any wing damage.

[Farfalla]

Okay...here is the second "wild"chrysalis found at school. My co- worker just sent me this picture which was taken this afternoon. Guess the cat decided to pull up a chair on our porch and stay awhile.

[Chademr]

I sometimes find it comical where larvea decide to pupate. I have a pond in my backyard and the pump in the middle of it sends water to the filter that sits on the outside of the pond though tubing. The filter looks kindof like a canaster. The water goes into one spout that the tubing plugs into and out another spout. well the spout is located at the top of the canaster shaped filter and there about 2 inches from a spout that sends water flying 3 feet through the air is a pupa! It was probably 100 feet from any milkweed and we have a huge lawn with grass alwase cut so I have no idea what made him want to go all the way over to pond filter. He came out of his Chrysalis about a week and a half after I noticed him and was a healthy butterfly.

[Pat]

I've found wild ones hanging under big yucca leaves and also under my picnic table. They are elusive, though. I know I have 5 somewhere right around a spirea in my garden because the cats were all at the top of the nearby asclepias and they were huge ... next morning, no cats, but I still couldn't find a single chrysalis even with a relatively small search area.

[my monarchs]

I had no idea a chrysalis could be so far away from the host plant, but I just found out that you're right.
Two weeks ago I wrote in, lamenting that one of my critters had escaped. Today I walked all around to the back of the house and who did I see but my lost critter! It must be him. It was a butterfly just emerging from his cocoon. There are no milkweeds anywhere near by except the ones sitting in my container.
I'm thrillled that I found my lost caterpillar and got to see him one more time before he flew away

[Teresa]

I have a pretty large flight cage and I always think they can't get out. I have found them in crys on my windows, at the top of doorways, under tables and even on my Cleveland Browns wooden helmet thats on my shed, right under the face mask. He says "Go Browns"!! hehehehe

[monarchmama]

Cute stories. I have only found one chysalis in the wild, and I have been observing monarchs for almost 40 years now. That one was under the edge of a picnic table at a road side rest area. Needless to say I was thrilled to finally see one outdoors.

I think the pretty green color of the chysalis helps them blend in with most vegetation, especially the under sides of leaves and stems. They are rather elusive creatures and when I used to raise them indoors I would find escapees in the funniest places.

It never fails to amaze me how fast the big cats can move once they are done eating and hankering to make a J. On Saturday when I came home from the nature center with two big ones in a display box, I took the cover off and literally only turned away to do something else for about thirty seconds and when I turned back there was only one big one left in the box. My husband and I looked all over with a flashlight for about ten minutes and never did find the big guy. I know he will show up eventually when he emerges, or we may find the chryasalis before then as we are doing chores in the kitchen. They can go pretty far in a short period of time, and them seem to like to climb as high as they can, or until they can find a sturdy ledge or windowsill or under a tabletop.
In the wild I have observed the large ones on milkweed and it is not at all unusual to see them climb down and go on a "walkabout" searching for a nice solid place to hang.

[Chademr]

There are AlOT of chrysalises outside of my house. Behind it there is a feild that has cut grass. Along the side of the woods, where the grass isn't cut (about 10 feet out from the edge of the woods and then it goes short) there are alot of chrysalises. The other half of the feild that isnt cut has corn in it and there are spots in the corn that no corn grew. There there is ALOT of milkweed. I take in about 10 caterpillars from there a day. I take in all I can becuase when the farmer who pays money to use my feilds cuts the corn I don't want all of them to die I dont know where I will get all my milkweed from after he cuts the feild. but, i'm sure ill manage I'm creative

[Keith Petrosky]

Only once have I found a wild chrysalis, and it was towards the bottom stem of the milkweed, covered by weeds.

[mommalepapillon]

these are where mine that seem healthy have attached themselves...
Wednesday I am hoping the first ones to emerge.. or is it eclose?

I am so happy to have this site... thank you all so much and when I get my first paycheck from school starting back up a donation will be on the way!

mommalepapillon
christine

[Chademr]

it can be called eclosing

[mommalepapillon]

Thanks!