This is "Butterfly" (as J wanted to call him) a couple hours before he emerged. The cocoon turned a dark black color, and then the wings were visible underneath. Very cool!
This is what we found after we had left the house for 3 hours to go to our play group. Butterfly had emerged! He was hanging upside down from the cocoon.
Here is a picture of the cocoon after Butterfly came out.
J was so excited to hold him! Butterfly would grip onto anything you'd put by his front legs. He would then hang upside down. He was still drying his wings.
A close-up shot of Butterfly on my finger. Just amazing to see the Lord's handiwork! Seeing the intricate design and colors up close like this was breathtaking.
When we realized it could be a long time before Butterfly's wings were dry and he would be able to fly, we set him on a plant basket. He ended up staying here a couple more hours just drying in the sun!
After a couple hours of drying here, we finally saw Butterfly opening and closing his wings. What I suppose was his last exercise before attempting flying.
I picked him up one more time to look at him up close. His wings were opening and closing and then he took his first flight! He moved too quickly to get a picture of that.
Here is where he landed after his first flight. He only went a few feet. He did this one more time (took a short flight) and landed for a bit and then the next time we went out to check him, he was gone! What a great experience with our little Butterfly!
Come check out what others are doing at another linkup....Science Sunday!
