The Saga of Chicken Nugget: The Release

Fast forward..way forward.

Chicken Nugget met an early demise while we were at the hospital with Nosy. I found him withered up outside his caterpillar house. I am experiencing extreme guilt over his death, knowing he would have been better off in the wild. Peter hatched while we were gone and did great for a day or two. Then he also died. We were so upset! Thankfully, Chrys had a couple of extra little guys at her house and generously shared with us. Thus, Chicken Nugget II came to live with us.

Chicken Nugget II was a champ! (After she emerged, we could determine from her markings that she was a female.) She ate. She pooped. She munched and crunched all around her yummy milkweed. And then she molted into her chrysalis. I don't have any photos, but a chrysalis is such a beautiful thing! It awes me every time.

When we woke up on Monday morning, the chrysalis had turned clear and monarch wings could be seen. We were so excited!! Since we had plans to meet Erica and Oliver at the Arbo, we packed Chicken Nugget II up with us. We did not want to miss her emergence!

As soon as we pulled up at the Arbo, I checked on Chicken Nugget II. Guess what I saw?!

We completely missed her emergence, but we had plenty of time to make her acquaintance.

Oliver wasn't too sure about our butterfly.

Neither one of my Boys wanted to hold her either. They were content to watch from a distance.

Nosy did generously try to feed her a rock. We left Chicken Nugget II happily exploring this beautiful flower. We could not think of a better home for her than the Arbo. We will look for her the next time we visit!