You may remember Liberace.
Colourful, vibrant and vivacious. My caterpillar, Liberace.
A couple of weeks ago I showed you a video of Liberace as he was just hatching out of his shell. After a few weeks of eating, growing, eating growing, pooping, eating and growing, Liberace cloaked himself in a glittery chrysalis.
And a few days ago, he emerged. And I happened to catch it all on video.
And by “happened to catch” I mean I woke up early on the morning I knew it was going to emerge and sat beside the chrysallis for 6 hours until it happened.
Yeah he was late, and the opening act of a fly crawling across the counter was kindda lame, but when he finally came out, Liberace put on a spectacular show.
Nature. Gotta love it. It’s a complete freak show.
Learn more about Monarchs at The Monarch Project.
So beautiful! Thank you for capturing video and sharing it with us. I have swamp milkweed and am growing a bigger stand of it each year. We do see monarchs but I haven’t looked for eggs.
What a beautiful moment to capture on camera, and a beautiful song choice to accompany it…
Karen, What plant did you release your Monarch on? We have 5 who are “hybernating” right now, and I don’t quite recognize the plant in your video. Is that parsley? I went and bought “attracts butterflies” plants (according to the nursery, Mums will work) but I wasn’t sure if maybe I should use something else. Thanks!!
This is an awesome post! My husband and I are planing a total makeover of our garden next summer, adding more perennials and bushes that will help not only more butterflies but also bees. You’re totally inspiring♥ Thank you for sharing and helping
You’re welcome Jess! Yup the monarchs are a really fun thing to raise! And they’re house trained. ~ karen!
Wonderful Video!! My son really wants to do this, has for a long time. He would like to know where you get your caterpillars? Thank you, Susanne
Hi Susanne – I let milkweed grow on my property. I then gather up the eggs I find there (Monarchs only lay on milkweed) and bring them inside where they hatch. If you can find milkweed you might be lucky enough to find eggs/caterpillars. ~ karen!
Liberace is gorgeous!!
Freak’n awesome!! I haven’t seen one Monarch this year — so it warms my soul to see the little guy flutter. Thanks for sharing the magic that is Mother Nature. By the way, how is Cuddles doing? — cheers
Found a monarch catapiler today. I call the little critter a catapiler because your right about the load of poop it generates! Do you call a catapiler a he or a she? Anyway, the critter is doing well! Couldn’t find an egg, was happy with a tiny, already born poop generator.
Love your blog. Fred
Thanks Fred! Congratulations on your Monarch (hopefully) caterpillar find. Keep feeding it fresh leaves and you’ll be releasing it in a month or so. ~ karen
I cried. Well done, Karen!
Beautiful!
Thank you for this gift! Freakingly awesome. You are.
I’m a teacher, and have “grown” butterflies with classes and shown emergence from the internet. Nothing I’ve seen comes even close to your video. It was beyond words beautiful. I could not take my eyes away for a second. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing show of nature. The music was perfect.
Incredible… loved it. Thanks for sharing :)
This was beautifully done, thank you!
I watched this on youtube.com and left a comment on how beautiful it is. However, your post here is even more wonderful. I love the way you described him as Liberace, wrapping himself in a glittery cloak. I hadn’t noticed the gold sparkles on the chrysalis before, and your pointing them out made the entire event even more magical and gave this a whole new dimension. You are a great writer!
Thanks Louise! Yes, I saw your comment on youtube! If you notice, you can see the metallic gold on his (her actually) wing. I pullout from it in one shot. Even *I* had never seen/noticed that bit of gold on the wing before. I always wondered what happened to the gold from the chrysalis. ~ karen!
Oh my gosh. I got choked up watching this. Thanks for sharing Karen.
made my day…great job karen and the secret sisters have a new fan!
It made me cry.
Truly a beautiful vision to behold! BIG thanks to you, Karen, for taking the time sharing and exposing the brilliance of nature close up and personal. Amazing freak show, indeed, Chickie!
Trying to think of the perfect adjective to describe this video and post and all it represents. I think silence and awe are all that are truly needed (hard to portray via online though). Thank you, it was beautiful and for a moment, all was right in the world.
Beautiful. Thanks for the work you put into this project and for sharing it with all of us!
Absolutely beautiful. Thank you.
What a beautiful emergence! I would have loved to have actually been there to experience this! I have seen one ‘go the other way’ though – a caterpillar building its chrysalis to start his / her transformation; just as wondrous to see, but definitely not as colourful! Beautifully filmed, Karen – and nice soundtrack, too! Liberace is a great name as well!
wow i am 65 and truly have never seen anything this amazing…went back and read all 5 parts..i know there must be some here because one would land on the screen in my bedroom window in front of my computer so i will be out there look for those tiny ass eggs now i hope i can see them i want to share this with my grandsons so they have an appreciation of nature thanks you so much…. your photography is awesome xx
Gorgeous, mesmerizing, and beautiful. Thank you for capturing and sharing this! Yes, nature is truly miraculous. And I love your videography techniques and the music as well. All lovely.
You ended the video before the crow swoops in, snaps up Liberace off the parsley and flies off with him to “complete the cycle of life”?
Well now,…that wasn’t very nice, was it? Great job, Karen. Thanks for letting all of us share in this miracle. I also enjoyed your musical choice.
HEY. I said “to complete the cycle of life” instead of snapping his body in half, with the legs falling away as it gains altitude and gulping the upper body down in one swallow, so I think I am actually very nice. Don’t be a hater, Linda S.
Lol.
This was gorgeous, and even if a crow did get her, it’s better than pesticides and Monsanto. Thank you for making and sharing this lovely video!
I love that you used one of your your readers’ songs for this video! Do you have any other chrysalises (chrysali?) waiting to hatch?
You amaze me. Seriously.
Thanks Michelle B. No need for amazement though. And yes, I have one more Monarch waiting to emerge! It will be my last for the season. ~ karen!
Dear Mother Nature..We are sorry for taking you for granted..Please don’t take your beautiful things away from us..We love you..
What a delightful way to start my morning! The butterfly, the music, and the simple brilliance of the way you brought it all across!
Brilliant ….Just brilliant!
I have goose bumps on my arms – that was too beautiful. Thanks, Karen. I believe you, too, are this beautiful butterfly. After your divorce, you became a caterpillar. You gave yourself time and have emerged an gorgeous butterfly.
Thank you for letting us see this beauty.
Made me cry
Oh wow…. Beautiful.
Karen, I found this awesome site, I’m in FL so it’s perfect for me and I wanted to share.
http://www.livemonarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds.htm You can donate to the cause and get sent milkweed seeds or plants…. and I can’t wait to receive them and start helping the cause!