Caterpillar Conundrum, Part 2
—Actually Identifying Mystery Eggs and Larvae
I’m sure that ever since reading last week’s Caterpillar Conundrum, Part 1 post, you’ve been waiting with bated breath for the Big Reveal, when I share what those mystery eggs and larvae were! I’m happy to report your agonizing wait 😁 is over!
Our first clue in solving this mystery occurred when (finally!) one of our “greenie” larvae pupated (turned into a chrysalis). This was the only greenie of about 10 greenies Hubby & I had seen so far, that made it to the chrysalis stage rather than just disappearing! This greenie transformed into a chrysalis on a brick wall near the Desert Senna that had been its home and salad bar. The green, leaf-shaped chrysalis looked very similar to a Cloudless Sulphur chrysalis we saw on the same Desert Senna in September 2022, though the Cloudless Sulphur larva looked very different—it was stripey, not solid green.
Our second clue for ID’ing our little friend (beyond the butterfly family Pieridae, that I mentioned last week) occurred 4 days later, when the chrysalis started to become transparent and we could see an orangey wing showing through!
Our third clue happened the next day, about an hour before the butterfly eclosed (emerged from its chrysalis): the chrysalis was even more transparent and we could see an orange and black wing!
These orange and black colors were an important clue for us, and we scoured our favorite butterfly ID resources to determine the species!
The Big Reveal
🎺 Doot, do-do-DOOOOO! Here it is—my Perpetual Journal art featuring the chrysalis, the butterfly that eclosed from it, and the Big Reveal of the species!
As you see, we concluded this was a Sleepy Orange Butterfly (Abaeis nicippe)!
*Whew!* 🤗 Was that exciting or what?!?!? 🥳
You may be thinking, “But, Paula, you painted a yellow butterfly! What happened to the orange and black in your photos of the transparent chrysalis?” Great question! The orange and black colors are only on the top side (“dorsal side”) of a Sleepy Orange Butterfly’s wings and are seen when its wings are open. The yellow color is on the underside (“ventral side”) of its wings and is seen when its wings are closed.
I only saw the butterfly with its wings closed, so that’s what I painted: the yellow underside of the wings, plus the little bit of orange and black I saw peeking out from the dorsal side of one of the wings when it was in this position.
From what I’ve read, butterflies frequently have different colors and patterns on the top side vs. underside of their wings! Amazing! 🤩 The wonders of nature literally never cease! And speaking of “wonder”, next week I’ll be attending the Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference!
Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference
The 6th annual Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference, held online on September 18-22, 2024, is an Excellent (definitely with a capital “E”) event that “gathers people who are passionate about nature, art, science, curiosity, and wonder to share ideas, learn from each other, support each other, inspire each other, and have fun together in nature’s beauty.”
The conference features over 30 teachers, journalers, writers, artists, and authors offering 30 classes, demos, panels, and lectures. Topics range from art to natural history and everything in-between!
You can either buy a Live Pass (which enables you to watch all the events live and have access to all of the recordings to watch after the event, until April 30, 2025) or you can buy a Video Pass (which enables you to watch the videos of the presentations anytime between mid-October 2024 and April 30, 2025).
This will be my 5th year attending the conference. Every year I find it inspirational, educational and just plain fun! 🤩
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Fascinating about the butterfly. And thanks for sharing about the journaling conference.