Elf Princess is away for the next few weeks on visitation with the Ex. But unfortunately this means she misses the best part of the life cycle of the caterpillars she has been so patiently watching and caring for. To alleviate this to some extent, BrandG and I will be posting pictures and musings periodically so that she can still participate in this wonderful event from afar.

This is butterfly #2. She¹ is next to her brothers and sisters that are still in their chrysalides. See that red stuff around her? That’s meconium.

MECONIUM²
Meconium is the red fluid that butterflies and moths eject after they leave the chrysalis. Meconium is a metabolic waste product from the pupal stage that is expelled through the anal opening of the adult butterfly. (Note: meconium is not blood.)

According to the handy little guide the Insect Lore folks sent, it is commonly mistaken for blood. However, it is basically the left over coloring that her body will not be putting into the wings. Until she’s ready, she will stay the same grey and white color as her older brother, butterfly #1.

Butterfly #1 hatched early this morning and has been sitting very quietly in the butterfly pavilion most of the day. He is slowly getting streaks of orange through his wings, but it is so faint right now that you cannot see it in any of the pictures.

In the picture to the left, you can see the underside of Butterfly #1. It is covered in a soft, downy fuzz similar to what you would see on a moth. He is a very fat little butterfly, don’t you think?

In order to keep them fat and happy, we have mixed some Sugar In The Raw with warm water. The Insect Lore people said to use a small pipette to put the sugar water on the flowers. However, the thing about plastic flowers is that they don’t absorb sugar water very well.

To get around this irritating fact, I put the sugar water on cotton balls in a small plastic dish. So the butterflies now have a small eating dish on the floor of their pavilion. Hopefully, the sugar water is appetizing. I would hate to be the first family to have butterflies go on a hunger strike.

Since we have had two butterflies hatch in just one day³, I fully expect to have a busy week of documenting and feeding. On the bright side, they don’t scream incessantly and diapers are not required.

We miss you, baby. Have fun and hurry home.

1. I have no idea if it’s a girl or boy, sweetie. [↩]
2. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/glossary/indexm.shtml [↩]
3. Painted Ladies typically hatch in 7 to 10 days after they go into the chrysalides stage. [↩]