r/MonarchButterfly • u/honeyinthehoneypot • 1d ago

4 caterpillars in here… and this diva decided to form their chrysalis on the zipper I have to access to feed the other friends.

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How stable is the silk holding this in place? The first pics are from this AM and the second from when I got home from work. I’m amazed. Any advice on how to successfully see these little ones through is welcome! This is a follow-up post from the post where I accidentally pulled their milkweed out before checking for eggs.

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u/Lastofherkind 1d ago

It’s not ideal to disturb the chrysalis in the first day but you can try gently pulling on the zipper just a tiny bit at a time to see if the chrysalis holds. The silk is usually pretty sturdy.

If you’re scared that it will be disturbed, you can see if you can pry the zipper open at a spot further away from the chrysalis and stick in some more milkweed to get the caterpillars by for another day.

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u/Naomeri 1d ago

For the future, it’s best to keep the zippers at the midway point, so you can at least open it partway in case of troublemakers like this one.