First Monarch Chrysalis of 2022!

            After a long summer of uncertainty, and weeks of struggling to keep the caterpillars healthy, we discovered yesterday on a protected plant that one of our caterpillars had finally succeeded in transforming into a chrysalis. And he did it on a milkweed!  The milkweed in question was not one that we had grown, but a supplemental purchase from The Barn in Chattanooga. with a very unusual growth habit featuring multiple branching stalks and dense, smaller leaves. The species was given as Incarnata, and enabled them to survive, so that's good enough. 
              Inside their enclosure, in past years all the caterpillars climbed the mesh walls and hung from the ceiling. Where these plants are concerned, the caterpillars are ok with hanging around within them, when their time comes. Below we see a second one this morning hanging in the J position that precedes becoming a Chrysalis.  

.          Also inside the enclosure are two smaller caterpillars from a slightly younger generation. One third instar is shown below, 

             Until a few days ago, there were eight Monarch Caterpillars combined from the two generations, and we seemed to be in a period where predatory patterns had brought a lull. But then in one day, five of them disappeared in one morning. Our guess is migrating birds discovered a feast. So we are down to three outside, one of which (last photo below) is mottled and sickly and probably will not make it. 

             After such a loss, we have the natural instinct to take all the survivors in, but we continue to cherish the principle of trusting nature and interfering as little as possible. Balancing that, we were mindful of the Monarchs new status as an endangered species, and wanted to make sure that we hatched at least an heir and a spare to carry on for the mother.
          We started with 16 known caterpillars, and brought in four when that number declined to 12 (at least one the victim of a ladybug larva!), for a 2-1 outdoor/indoor ratio.  Now we are down to just three outside, so we feel that it was a good call to protect some. Another issue outside is that at this time of year, the Milkweed plants sometimes go into very quick decline, depriving a resident caterpillar enough leaves and requiring a gentle transfer to a vacant plant. 
          The chrysalis phase lasts about ten days, so if all goes well, our first new Monarchs should emerge the first week of October, just enough time to skedaddle south! With luck, a second small group will follow the next week.