Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: chrysallis

Drove over to the Zoo this afternoon, but this photo was taken on my previous visit. It is fascinating to watch as butterflies of various species slowly emerge from their chrysallises. These are large butterflies, called Blue Morphos. When I was there today, there were a lot of these, a few flying around, but most were "resting" with their wings closed. When their wings are open, they are the most gorgeous, brilliant blue! Yep, I know - it's just not the same as finding butterflies in the wild, but that will hopefully come soon : )

I was careless and didn't quite get the whole of the identification label in my original photo, so am not sure what tropical butterfly these gorgeous chrysalisses belong to. I think it's just amazing that each has a row of tiny gold dots. Nature is so clever and beautiful : ) Seen, of course, at the Calgary Zoo. Thanks so much to Art (LeapFrog!) for the Monarch ID! Click here, if you are interested and have time, to see a photo documentary of the various stages of a Monarch, from caterpillar to butterfly. I love the way the chrysallis turns a beautiful shade of blue. www.linknot.com/Magic-Garden/Monarch-chrysalis.htm Two short, amazing videos of the transformation from caterpillar to chrysallis, from clayruth.com/pupa.html . clayruth.com/Content/Pupation.wmv clayruth.com/Content/Contraction.wmv