Monarch Series # 6 Metamorphis

I got home this evening to find that that six large caterpillars on my swan plant have vacated the premises.  I am sure the other five are off somewhere going through their own change, but this is the only one I could find.


By deliberately blowing out the background (I used flash with white paper behind the caterpillar) I was able to get interesting detail in the caterpillar.  Look at that grumpy face, and those lovely black shoes.  I just realised tonight that those white socks become the beautiful gold dots on the chrysalis.  But what fascinated me the most was that you can see him shading to green in those first two sections below his head.

When I got home there was also a monarch butterfly laying more eggs on the leaves of the swan plant, so I may have a third family of caterpillars in a week or so - although I would have thought it was too late in the season by now.