Waldo at the Halfway Point
Weâre up to day five of Waldo The Monarch Chyrasalis’ metamorphosis. This is the first morning Iâve noted any real change to the chrysalis; Waldo now has some small brown spots on his back over where the wings are. Some of the gold spots appear to be darkening or turning brown as well. Iâve read that metamorphosis will take around ten days, so we should be about at the halfway point now. The brown spots are either appearing a little early, or right on time, depending on who I choose to listen to.
| Side Shots | âBellyâ View | Other Shots |
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| Waldo Pre-Chrysalis |  |
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| Chrysalis Day 1 | Chrysalis Day 1 | |
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| Chrysalis Day 2 | Chrysalis Day 2 | A close-up of Waldoâs attachment to his branch. The attachment is called the âcremasterâ, a term I’ve just learned and had to laugh out loud at. The cremaster muscle in mammals is a thin muscle at the top of the male’s nuts (for lack of a more family friendly term) responsible for hauling them up and down depending on prevailing temperature conditions. I never knew the word had any other meaning until now. |
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| Chrysalis Day 3 | Chrysalis Day 3 | OK, this part is really cool. See the two little dots at the base of the cremaster? Theyâre called âholdfast tubercles’ or ‘clasping buttons’. Those are the two original points by which Waldo attached himself to the branch. This is said to be the most critical time during the transition from caterpillar to pupa. The grasp is temporary and precarious, and lasts just long enough for the caterpillar to extend its cremaster and lock onto the little silk pad it created on the branch prior to beginning to shed its skin. The cremaster is covered with little hooks and is supposed to latch onto the silk (think Velcro). If the holdfast tubercles donât hold fast, if the cremaster doesnât attach quickly, if a random wind comes up, then the chrysalis falls. It will not survive the fall because the chrysalis skin/shell has not yet hardened and offers no protection. |
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| Chrysalis Day 5 This picture shows how the yellow dots reflect light (reminds me of a catâs eyes in the dark). It also shows that some of the dots are darkening, and thereâs a new splotch of pigment on the side of the chrysalis where the wings are developing. The gold is due to refraction of light, not pigmentation. |
Chrysalis Day 5 The gold spots are related to scale formation on the developing butterfly. An experiment done back in the 70âs hinted that the spots help direct the number and coloration of scales, but I canât find any cites that indicate how this works or how the gold spots form. |
For those of you reading shortly after my uploading this, bear with me. Tables are tricky things to code on DD, and I’ll probably be in and out of the entry several times tidying things up.
This is so neat. Thanks for taking us along with you and Waldo on his journey to butterflyhood!
How’s Funguscat, BTW? What did the vet say? Her fans are hoping for the best.
I’m really enjoying following Waldo’s metamorphosis. I’ve noticed chrysalises over the years, but never had any real sense of the time involved, or the detailed changes.
I agree! This is the second most wonderful thing I’ve ever followed on any blog, the first being the saga of the liver, of course!
I’ve also been wondering about SLFC and what the dermatologist said.
Wow! keep these pictures coming they are fantastic.