Chrysalis

Yesterday Liz was hacking away at the guinea grass around the chicken coop and she uncovered two of these--the chrysalis of the monarch butterfly. This morning one had emerged and left only shredded bits of its transformation pod, while this one remained intact. I was so struck by the gold patterns on it. It will probably break open tomorrow, to reveal a fresh new butterfly.

This is not a cocoon. Moth caterpillars spin cocoons out of their own silk to encase their bodies while they transform. Butterfly caterpillars instead shed their skin as they prepare to enter metamorphosis, revealing a hard shell beneath that serves as protection during their transformation--this is the chrysalis. The presence of gold on these casings is actually found in many butterfly species; the term comes from the Greek chrysos, meaning gold.