My friend Beth has turned her yard into a butterfly sanctuary. Recently we were able to observe something so unique in our experience that I have to share it with you all.
This is the caterpillar of the Gulf Fritillary butterfly…
This is one that’s decided to build his cocoon on the underside of Beth’s barbecue grill…
We were lucky enough to catch him as he wove his magic…the action really gets going at about two minutes in…
He’s still there and we’ve noticed that his position changes at various times during the day…he goes from curled in a “J” facing one way, to being extended straight out, then curling in a “J” in the opposite direction…Beth has researched this but so far hasn’t found an explanation…if anyone is a butterfly person and knows why this happens, please share the answer here.
Once he’s hatched, this is what he’ll look like…
30/30 Challenge ticker:
Thanks to Blogpaws for hosting the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop
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Terrier Torrent 
Hey Gizmo it always amazes us how something so ugly can become so delicate and beautiful. Nature is brilliant. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
Best wishes Molly
I agree..The transition from caterpillar to butterfly is wonderous
Wow, how beautiful. When I was a child, we use to see loads of butterflies in the UK, now I hardly see any 😦 xx00xx
Mollie and Alfie
I wonder why that is? Less wildflowers around maybe? You could try finding out what butterfly is native to your area and then plant some of their favorite food and host plants to lure them in…
This is the first time I’ve ever sat through a vid of a wiggly caterpillar. They are not my friends when they eat my baby plants. Sigh.
Friend Beth & Momz Beth are both really into butterflies…it started with Monarchs and they both put in lots of milkweed which is both their food plant and host plant to lure them in…We found out that they’re pretty specific in what plants they’ll eat and Friend Beth especially has gotten into “butterfly breeding”…she monitors all the cocoons in her yard and puts screening up to protect them from birds…I get such joy from watching them in the garden…the only downside right now is that there’s no bbq until this guy hatches
Not a butterfly expert here… but love butterflies! Great video. Thanks for sharing!
Not an expert here either but a big fan … the video was so unusual I just had to share it
this was sooooooooooo cool!!!! What fun to observe!
I’m really glad you liked it…I was hoping the lack of color wouldn’t make it too dull to watch, but all the movement fascinated me
How interesting! Won’t that be fun to watch hatch! Mom and I luv to sit outside and watch the butterflies too 😀
Waggin at ya,
Roo
Beth is monitoring it very closely and she’s hoping to catch the hatching on video too…if she does we’ll be sharing it here
Thanks for sharing, Gizmo, and allowing the rest of us to marvel at nature with you!
You’re so welcome…I’m very glad you enjoyed it as much as I did
How cool! We have a butterfly bush and have various butterflies in our backyard all summer. I’ve never caught one but I do like to chase them!
Yes, I chases them too when they come down close to me…so pretty and fun to follow around the yard
Oh that’s so nice. I like butterflies very much ;o) Fortunately we have a lot here in summer. They are like small art works ;o)
What a perfect way to describe them Easy…they are small works of art by Nature, the best artist of all
Hey Giz! Hi Miss Beth!
I cannot believe you got video of that! How cool?!? We see butterflies that look like that down here but we’ve never seen the catepillar (and thank goodness, Ma doesn’t like wiggly things BOL) and have definitely NEVER seen one cocooning.
Momz sez the caterpillars are ok since they make such gorgeous butterflies…we’re learning which ones turn into which and what plants they like best…We’ve found the cocoons here before but this was the first time ever to see the action
How exciting that you were able to capture him! I bought the kids a butterfly kit once where they could watch all the stages of the caterpillar to the butterfly!
It really was quite the experience…I did get to watch one of my monarch cocoons hatch a couple of years ago but didn’t get great photos :(…I’m hoping Beth catches this one hatching so i can share
Well isn’t that awesome!!!!!!!!
Actually yes, it really was awesome…:)
That’s so cool, thanks for sharing it and Happy Wednesday!
I really am happy that you enjoyed it…thanks for visiting today 🙂
That is cool. I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing a butterfly emerging from its cocoon a couple times and it’s fascinating. Isn’t nature amazing?
I watched a monarch emerge one morning, then fly to a nearby flower to dry his wings…fascinating!
I’ve never seen such a unique and interesting WW post.
We don’t usually see butterflies in our yard. But this year was drier than average and we had quite a few butterfly visitors. Of course, nothing as beautiful as your friend’s visitor.
Thank you so much Pamela…it was so amazing to watch I just had to share the experience with everyone. We do have quite a few butterflies here in my yard and I’ve tried adding some of their food plants to lure in more
That must be so amazing to watch the whole process, very exciting. Wagging Wordless Wednesday,
Maggie
It really is something…To see a crawling caterpillar perform these gymnastics, and then a while later emerge as a glorious butterfly…Nature is grand!
Woof! Woof! How COOL! I bet learning and seeing the process is such a thrill. Happy Blog Paws WW. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar
It really is amazing to watch Sugar…You and your mom would love it cause I know how much you too appreciate the beauty in the natural world
Very cool. Butterflies are so amazing. But I have often wondered why they were mis-named….outta be called a Flutterby. 🙂
BOL! Gizmo actually has a geocache that he owns that’s named “Flutterby”! How’d you guess? 🙂
Now that is seriously cool!
It really is, isn’t it 😀
Hey… Gizmo… Thanks for coming over to my blog and following me. I’m following you now too. Thanks for sending your nose to our pal Sheila…
hugs, Max, Bugsy and Knuckles
My pleasure Max! And I am so happy to meet Sheila…can’t wait to see what Gizmo’s nose looks like 🙂
Gizmo, thank you, thank you for sharing such pretty pretties with us. It’s so very cold here. We won’t see anything like those pretties for what seems like forever.
Maybe if it seems too cold you can look at my butterfly and visualize Spring! 🙂
That’s really cool. I am sure it is neat to watch.
I bet it feels good to look at your ticker and see it 3/4 to the end 🙂 Keep up the good work!
It really is…when he gets to really moving and shaking it’s amazing…and yes, that ticker sure is looking good…so good that Giz has registered for the Idita-Walk starting in February 🙂 thanks to you for giving us the motivation to get started
OH MY WORD this is something we have never seen. thank you for sharing and how lucky you were to capture it.
Hugs madi and mom
It was a total fluke believe me…Beth does “monitor” her caterpillars but just happened to catch this one by accident…It’s certainly a first for me and a really lucky one
I totally love butterflies but the catepillars, that’s a big negative. Love that video. It was really groovin around there! Thanks for sharing that with us. Very cool!
Aw c’mon you have to have caterpillars if you want to see butterflies 😉 he was rockin’ and rollin’ up a storm wasn’t he?
The wonders of nature! Excellent photos and video. Thanks for sharing, Gizmo.
You’re welcome Debbie…Thank you so much for stopping by today
Amazing!
Thank you 😀
Holy smokes!! That’s amazing.
*biggrin* Isn’t it…Who knew there was so much action in cocoon-building?
They are so pretty. I chased some butterflies in the summer which was fun, but didn’t catch any!
It’s probably good that you didn’t Misaki…they’re a little fragile for a big girl like you…but you’re just as pretty as they are 🙂
Oh Gizmo, How lucky you are to have a friend with the patience to plant a butterfly garden. I love butterflies and once spent a wonderful afternoon at a (I can’t think of what they’re called) ‘butterfly sanctuary’ in South Dakota. Gorgeous. Thanks for sharing! Happy WW!
Aren’t butterfly gardens gorgeous? I got to visit this one http://www.leugardens.org/ in Orlando and loved it; friend Beth has gotten me into butterfly plantings and it does make a difference in who you attract
That’s amazing. With all that shaking and stuff, I thought he was having sex. MOL! Sorry about that if the kids are around. The peeps used to have a big butterfly bush in their backyard. One even sat on Pop’s shoulder! Last year one of those pretty butterflys came and sat on our 4th floor ledge!
BOL!!! Who knows what he was doing in there 😉 It’s quite something though…I have milkweed planted outside the window by my desk and I get to watch the monarch caterpillars eat all the leaves, and then after they hatch i watch them land and eat…i love that
That is so cool, they really turn out to be beautiful dont they! That would be lovely to have a butterfly garden one day
Amazing how something so strange looking transforms into something so lovely
How cool!
Thanks! Glad you had fun 🙂
Very cool Gizmo! Remember when I told you about my family’s nursery? Well, they let a woman build a butterfly house on the property which she opens up during the weekends to visitors. My daughter goes out there regularly to help her and she’s quite the butterfly girl. She definitely knows more about them than I do!
Yes, I sure do remember…what a super opportunity for your daughter…I’d love to visit there myself and learn more
That is awesome, I hope you’re able to get a picture of him when he’s hatched too? 🙂
Have fun,
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
Friend Beth has been watching carefully to try and capture the time when he emerges…Of course if she manages to get a photo I will be posting it here …I hope she does!
Hey there Gizmo! So glad I found you guys…in special thanks and hugs to Oz for introducing us…really awesome video!!!!
*highpaw* Hi there new furriend! Yes it’s very good that Oz introduced us … I’m not a Cairn but I think we have lots in common … Good to meet you!
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