We may have a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar & Butterfly in the morning!! I’m hoping for the at least the butterfly, and the egg waits until Sunday. I have a class I'm giving in the morning that would like to see the butterfly, but I want to record the caterpillar coming out of the egg if I can. 🐛🦋🐛🦋🐛🦋
This egg was laid on Sunday 2/18/18, and today makes day 6 since it was laid. On average, butterfly eggs hatch anywhere from 7-12 days after being first laid. And if you notice, the egg is now banded with a darker color. So most likely tomorrow (2/24/18) or Sunday (2/25/18) we will have our first egg hatch of the season.
I am really, really hoping I get the egg hatching on video. But I have no control over Mother Nature. She definitely has the last say. But maybe, just maybe, I will have a butterfly for the class tomorrow. This is also a Gulf Fritillary. If you look close enough, you can see its eye. This somewhat translucent chrysalis is how I know that, most likely in the morning, we will have a butterfly.
So now I will be like a kid before Christmas, can't wait to get up and see what I will get to share with you tomorrow. I am pretty excited!! So until next time, Peace, Love, and Butterflies✌🏼💝🦋🦋