City - Fort Dodge State - IOWA Country - United States
About
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus)make excellent biology projects in fall to teach elementary school kids about insect life stages, like shown here: Caterpillars (from milkweeds on to a fishing worm-box), Pupa (hanging in a terrarium) & butterly (on a flower). All demonstrated within a matter of a few weeks in Aug-Sept. Plus, while the butterfly emerges out of its chrysalis, it takes several minutes to dry its wings, to prepare for the southward migration, offering several photo opportunities, a reward for the patience of the nature photog. During this time, you can make it crawl on to your finger & place it on the flowers of your choice. Here, this Monarch was released on Golden Sundrop flowers (Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra) for the backdrop.
Wonderful example of the life cycle of a Monarch. I was hoping to achieve just this type of presentation, but alas the chrysalis did not produce the butterfly. Well done., Regards, Ceceilia
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