Monarchs in space eclosing

I was out of town earlier this week and I kind of forgot about the Monarchs in Space for awhile. So now I checked, and 2 of them have just eclosed today.

Bottoms up!

White collar grasshopper

In keeping with my traditional avoidance of Black Friday sales, I took a stroll through the arboretum. I was delighted to find a color scheme of the Gray Bird grasshopper that I hadn't seen before.

Can you see him in there? How did I manage to find him in that tangled little plant? It's a disease. I can't help myself. My eyes just go there. Obssessive-compulsive bug finding. That's what it is.



Look at that white thorax-collar he has on!

And here he is from another angle.

Pupating in micro gravity earlier today

The middle pupa didn't attach and is free floating. The other 2 look dubious, but I think they're ok. I'll be able to tell better tomorrow. Of course there won't be much to look at for the next several days, but I'm wondering what will happen next. Can they morph successfully if there is no up or down, especially if they (or at least one) are drifting and shifting the developing parts inside? And what happens when they eclose? Here on earth, no butterfly would ever emerge from its chrysalis amid a flurry of floating frass. What's to stop all that poop from sticking to the wet new wings and messing them up? Assuming the butterflies do emerge OK, then what? Are they still going to live in that box, or will they be transferred to another enclosure? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Note: Try as I might, I can't make the whole picture show up in my post. Only 2 pupae are visible. But you can click the picture and see the whole thing.

Thankful for a lovely day

We have had such nice weather lately. It's so nice to just get out and walk around the arboretum without having to do a tour or something.
This spider was pretty tiny.



I like these wild-eyed flies.



Halictid bee



Honeybees on iceplant flower



Hairstreak butterfly


Ichneumon compsocryptus. A new one for me!

space station monarch cats looking good

Click here to get to a still-photo update page. It seems to be snapping pictures of the caterpillars automatically every so often.

Stick insect leg progress

My poor little rescued stick insect is now bigger and richer, by one leg. She shed her skin last night and now she has a right front leg.


The other two legs are developing just as I expected they would. They are now in the tiny, curly phase, and after the next shed they will be much larger and fully functional.


ready to eat a leaf now!

You can see her before pictures here.