Richard Moore Outdoor Report: Monarch Miracle

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Those ravenous monarch caterpillars that were munching their way through South Texas milkweed a few weeks ago are miraculously completing their metamorphosis.

Monarchs make migratory stops in the Rio Grande Valley laying some of the first generations of eggs that have now hatched and will help complete their multi-generational migration.

It takes only four days for eggs to hatch; vivid yellow and black striped caterpillars grow rapidly gaining more than 2,000 times their original weight in two weeks of almost nonstop eating.

After 14 days, two-inch caterpillars are fully grown and ready to pupate. The chrysalis they form is an elegant emerald green encircled in golden strands, and after 10 to 14 days the encased butterfly is poised to emerge.

The night before emergence chrysalis turns dark, and by morning distinctive black and orange wings of the monarch become visible through the now translucent chrysalis.

As delicate chrysalis sways, you have to admire the caterpillar’s construction that so securely attaches itself to the slender branch with a sturdy silk-like mat.

It may take hours for the butterfly to emerge, and then suddenly with no prior discernible movement a tiny crack begins to open, and the monarch starts to emerge.

The entire process unfolds in less than a minute, and as the monarch slips out headfirst it clings precariously to a mere husk of chrysalis spinning in the breeze.

Gradually, the tiny, crumpled wings of the butterfly begin enlarging as hemolymph, the blood-like substance of insects begins pumping through its body.

Within a couple of hours, the monarch is fully formed and dried, revealing richly hued orange wings rimmed in satiny black glistening like stained glass.

Monarchs emerging now will live only two to six weeks as they migrate laying eggs while they travel, as will the next generation, but the fourth generation will live much longer and eventually make the remarkable migration back to wintering grounds in the mountains of central Mexico.