Day 23: coalescing

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Metamorphosis Watch: Day 23  

Coalescing. Isn't that a lovely word? After spending ten days observing the coalescence of the monarch butterfly cells—rearranging themselves from caterpillar to winged Lepidopteran, the wait is almost over. But for the butterfly, its journey is only about to begin. Our metamorphosis watch is starting to get very interesting: emergence is near. The last of the miracle is soon to unfold and quickly thereafter, fly away.

After ten days in the chrysalis our monarch butterfly pupa has changed. We have been looking through the glass, darkly. But not now. Today, we see the black and white of the head, thorax and abdomen cradled between the black and orange of the wings. 

There is still a foggy look created by the cellular material that has yet to coalesce into the adult butterfly but, trust me, almost all will find a home. 

Stay tuned. 

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