Mystery Chrysalis

Sometimes we find caterpillars and chrysalises around here.

Science is everywhere.  Remember when we did the black swallowtails last fall?    It's fun to be doing it again.

K2 found this chrysalis on an oak leaf in her garden last weekend.

It's kind of distinctive, with the black and the bumps and all.

This could be a Great Spangled Fritillary or a Pipevine.

We think it's a pipevine swallowtail chrysalis because the caterpillars look sort of black with orange bumps.

We get a lot of pipevine swallowtails around here, so it wouldn't be surprising if it were.

But, you know, those caterpillars could surprise us.  You never know what it is until they're done.




So we kept the leaf with the chrysalis and taped the leaf to the inside of a gallon jug.

I heart scotch tape.

And now we'll wait and see what it is when it comes out.

Turns out it was a Great Spangled Fritillary. or an Aphrodite.