We have a chrysalis! (2007-06-06)

(Originally posted on 6 June 2007.)

Giggles took Sherman to school on Monday to show him to the class, where their other caterpillars have already made chrysalises. After school she was at L's place and when I picked her up at 5:00 they were having lots of fun with Sherman. But as it was a rainy day they hadn't gone out looking for fresh oak leaves for him to eat. Giggles was rather concerned as he didn't seem to be eating much - we didn't see any more munches taken out of the leaves that were there, and she thought he really needed fresh ones. I told her maybe he was getting ready to form a chrysalis (or, possibly, suffering from PTSD what with so much handling...!). But she said he wasn't fat enough yet.

"Not all caterpillars get really really fat before they form a chrysalis. Maybe this is just the right size for his type of caterpillar/butterfly."

Sure enough, later Monday evening we saw some silky wisps of thread around him, fairly faint but nonetheless obvious. Giggles was ecstatic. "A chrysalis! A chrysalis!"

By Tuesday morning the wisps of silk were more evident and thicker, and by the time we came home from school and work last night Sherman was almost completely obscured.

Giggles thinks Sherman is the best pet in the world. Better even than kitty-cat. Kitty-cat isn't going to become a butterfly, after all.

So now we have a week or two to wait and then - if all goes well - we'll see a butterfly emerge. We don't know what kind of butterfly, as we weren't able to find any info about what type of caterpillar Sherman is. So we wait with bated breath...

(Note the unicorn picture in the background - to inspire Sherman with dreams of flying, so his butterfly form will be strong and magical!)