Monarch Emerging from Chrysalis - Final Monarch Update for 2016

So much is happening here! It's crazy fall abundance time and we also snuck in a backpacking trip to the North Cascades in Washington. We are sorting photos (and a video!) and hope to post about that trip soon. We are also witnessing some incredible nature sightings we want to share too. 

This is our second to last Monarch to emerge:

We have one more outside this morning on 9/27/16 that emerged amidst yesterday's chill, but it looks great and will surely fly today in this brilliant sunshine. We had 35 healthy adults emerge, 9 chrysalis deaths and 2 caterpillar deaths. Not bad and so much fun!

I made a video of one of our Monarchs emerging from its chrysalis. It's 7 minutes long, but shows the whole process. I learned after making the video that the "pedipalps" I mentioned are specific for Chelicerates (arachnids, horseshoe crabs, etc). These pedipalp-like organs on the Brush-footed Butterflies are actually shortened legs that look like brushes. Monarchs and other brush foots, have four long legs and these two shortened legs that seem to function similarly to pedipalps in some ways. Total coolness!