An American Robin prepares a home for her offspring.
Our backyard robins returned this year. Pam, remembering the “miss” they made on her roses, tore down the first bits of nest on our carriage light. They persisted and I implored her to “have a heart,” agreeing to look after their mess. Here she is in the second day, note how she shimmies to form the nest bowl.
~Kobayashi Issa
~Kobayashi Issa
Copyright 2018 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Dried and Hardened, Ready for Flight
Clinging to my sleeve, the newly emerged Monarch wings dried. It is a process of excreting the fluids pumped into wings, crumpled from folding within the chrysalis, to expand them. The clear drips of water on my arm are this fluid. I spent the hour sitting by our pool, savoring the summer morning. The butterfly signaled readiness, wings dried and hardened, opening and closing them slowly. Offered my finger it crawled to my hand, across to the thumb and, running out of space, took off.
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Pre-flight Wing Flaps
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First Flight
Ninety minutes later, I returned to the tree to find the Monarch still perched on the branch. A few minutes later, gone.
I used the IPhone 7 for these views..
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Fully open, soft and useless
Emerged from the chrysalis a butterfly’s wings are crumpled, useless. Here it is fifteen minutes into freedom after abdominal fluid is pumped into the wings, opening them. Full of this fluid, the wings are soft, still useless.
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I used the cage access door and the IPhone 7, with flash, for these views inside the cage.
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Helpless
Emerged from the chrysalis a butterfly’s wings are crumpled, useless. Here it is four minutes into freedom, abdomen bloated with fluid.
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Watch a Monarch butterfly leave the chrysalis
Watch the transparent chrysalis carefully and tiny movements are apparent before the skin splits, the butterfly slowly emerges.
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I used the cage access door and the IPhone 7 for these views inside the cage. Flash was used for the still photograph.
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Caterpillar to pupa to chrysalis
Still hanging, quiet, motionless the chrysalis from the caterpillar photographed yesterday becomes translucent the same evening, Day 9 since pupation.
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Day 10, early morning, the outer skin, fully transparent, signals emergence is immanent.
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I used the cage access door and the IPhone 7, with flash, for these views inside the cage.
Thank You for visiting. Click me for the first post of this series.
Caterpillar to pupa to chrysalis
Our monarch butterfly sanctuary is a dense stand of milkweed, over the years the established plants grow rapidly late May through June, blooming in July. The flowers have an incredible scent, attracting numerous pollinating insects.
A colony of pesky sparrows nest nearby. In spite of a reputation for tasting bad, the sparrow actively feed on the hatched caterpillars. My strategy is to examine the plants early morning, placing rescued caterpillars in this old birdcage.
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The caterpillars and milkweed leaf is placed on the cage floor. I pile up the dried leaves, replacing with fresh each morning.
Sadly to report, the last, ravenous caterpillar stage is also carnivorous, cannibalistic. These two, below, were the only ones left except for one in the pile of dried leaves.
Here is a closer view of the two fifth stage instars searching for a safe location to pupate.
A few hours later one has successfully created a silk pad, attached itself and assumed the “J” shape. To the left a second caterpillar and silk pad.
The next morning, the first has formed a chrysalis. The second, hung spent.
This unsuccessful individual never completed the chrysalis, dried up and fell. My sources write the pupa transforms to a chrysalis through shedding of skin, the following photograph tells a different story. The chrysalis appears to extrude from the skin; arising over, or from, the skin rather and beneath it. I have never recovered a shed skin underneath a successful chrysalis.
Nine days later, Tuesday, July 28, the chrysalis hangs. I check several times a day.
These photographs are from a 100mm “macro” lens, handheld. The birdcage works well for protecting the monarchs. Is a poor location for photography.
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First to Leave
In the first video, the largest and strongest Robin chick, the first to fledge, is not quite ready. Maybe I am anthropomorphizing, this individual appears to exhibit the same emotions I feel when approaching a new physical experience, say learning to flip turn, swimming laps in later life. Listen carefully to hear the chick playing the carriage light crown like a bell.
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Here the first chick to fledge screws up the courage, takes a shit, then leaps!! Bon Voyage!!
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I have a lot to learn about making video with this new camera. Color balance is improved in the second video.
Today, the morning after, this nest is not empty. I found the third chick standing, well grown, enjoying the benefits of parental attention. The nest was empty by afternoon, the territorial Robin parents were still terrorizing Blue Jays.
Special thanks to Pam for the heads up on the chicks and for ceding her prime kitchen window spot.
We watched the parents build this nest in stages from May to June, at times progress was so slow Pam and I thought the nest abandoned. It is a perfect location for them, safe from predators, sheltered by soffit, above, wall, behind. In front, carriage light crown.
Today the two of three chicks flew the nest. Here they are in the minutes before this big event.
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Here is my first video with the Canon dslr.
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Michael Stephen Wills Photography 