I was, once again, really lucky to catch Sir-Prise's pupation, and have set it to dramatic music after speeding it up. Unlike other videos, I've also included a time lapse of him scrunching himself up after all the skin has been removed, to become the typical jade green chrysalis size and shape we're used to seeing for Monarchs.

Some interesting things to take note of:

1) At the 10-second mark, you'll notice this vertical line appearing about midway across the length of his body. These are actually the lining of his old tracheal tubes (yes, the ones attached to his spiracles that allow him to breathe) that are part of his old skin and are being pulled out from him as he wriggles his body out.

2) At around the 1-minute mark, he makes a death-defying move. His old skin was hanging onto a button of silk he had spun at the top of the cage via the last set of his prolegs, which aren't really his legs, but are used as such while he's a caterpillar. Before he completely slips out of his old skin, he has to whip out this stem-like appendage that didn't exist while he was a caterpillar, called a cremaster, that has tons of tiny hooks at the end of it. He has to find that silk button and really stab and dig in with his cremaster so that he can stay hanging on and not fall off. So, before he's fully separated from his skin, he's got to make that switch to use his cremaster to attach himself to that tiny silk button, instead of his old skin that totally falls off a second or 2 later.

You'll see that, once the cremaster hits the silk button, he starts writhing like crazy, in an effort to really dig those hooks into there. This attachment needs to be really secure since he'll be hanging onto this tiny spot for the next 8-15 days, normally in whatever weather is happening all around him.

3) This previously long and plump caterpillar now has to scrunch himself up to the shape of his chrysalis. Although most of his body parts have been developing his whole life, and not just after pupating (you can see his wings, antennae, and proboscis), it's still amazing how he changes his shape.

Nature by Thy has been brought to you by Kit Kats and Reese Peanut Butter Cups. That's my breakfast, lunch, snacking, and bored mouth moments.

The "flashes" of light when the video was sped up during the scrunching time, are actually the changes in lighting from the sun and clouds through the window right next to the butterfly cage.