Comments on: Monarch Butterfly http://somethingscrawlinginmyhair.com/2008/03/08/monarch-butterfly/ A Field Guide to the North Side of Old Mill Hill, Atlantic Mine, MI Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:12:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Tim Eisele http://somethingscrawlinginmyhair.com/2008/03/08/monarch-butterfly/comment-page-1/#comment-2550 Tim Eisele Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:00:29 +0000 http://somethingscrawlinginmyhair.com/2008/03/08/monarch-butterfly/#comment-2550 Pam: Yes, it would be almost certain to do more harm than good to "help" a butterfly out of its chrysalis. The butterfly is in a very fragile state, with a soft exoskeleton, at the time it emerges from the chrysalis. The chrysalis is evolved to have particular weak spots that will pop open easily under pressure from inside, but there is nothing accessible from the outside. Any attempt to assist will tend to crush, pierce, or tear delicate body parts. And, if one tried to do it too early, the unfinished butterfly would still be in a partly liquid state, and it would kind of leak out. You might be able to make a case for pulling off the last bit of the chrysalis once the butterfly has mostly emerged, but even that is dubious. I've never seen one get hung up on the chrysalis. The only problem I've seen is that, if they emerge in a chamber (say, a small jar) that is too small to spread their wings fully, then the wings dry curved, wrinkled, and nonfunctional. So, as far as analogies go, make of that what you wish. Pam: Yes, it would be almost certain to do more harm than good to “help” a butterfly out of its chrysalis. The butterfly is in a very fragile state, with a soft exoskeleton, at the time it emerges from the chrysalis. The chrysalis is evolved to have particular weak spots that will pop open easily under pressure from inside, but there is nothing accessible from the outside. Any attempt to assist will tend to crush, pierce, or tear delicate body parts. And, if one tried to do it too early, the unfinished butterfly would still be in a partly liquid state, and it would kind of leak out.

You might be able to make a case for pulling off the last bit of the chrysalis once the butterfly has mostly emerged, but even that is dubious. I’ve never seen one get hung up on the chrysalis. The only problem I’ve seen is that, if they emerge in a chamber (say, a small jar) that is too small to spread their wings fully, then the wings dry curved, wrinkled, and nonfunctional. So, as far as analogies go, make of that what you wish.

]]> By: Pam http://somethingscrawlinginmyhair.com/2008/03/08/monarch-butterfly/comment-page-1/#comment-2546 Pam Sun, 28 Mar 2010 21:05:21 +0000 http://somethingscrawlinginmyhair.com/2008/03/08/monarch-butterfly/#comment-2546 Hello, I run a free, drop-in open studio for those pursuing better mental health using art as a therapeutic device. I study psychology and english at college at the same time, just to keep up with the participants! I often use a metaphor for my team leaders, or a struggling artist, about not cutting the pupa, how it hurts the butterfly to try to "help" it at certain points, that some pain and struggle accompanies us in everything we do. The trick is to know when to step in, in other words, and to what degree. So, is it in fact true, to cut the pupa, to help the butterfly have an easier time of it, you would actually kill it? Or make it into a vicim easily picked up by a passing crow? I'm assuming yes, but I'd like to know the full science of why it's bad. Thank you, P (I've attached your bug site, and blog to my favorites. Excellent source of clearly organized and wondrous information, good job!) Hello,
I run a free, drop-in open studio for those pursuing better mental health using art as a therapeutic device. I study psychology and english at college at the same time, just to keep up with the participants! I often use a metaphor for my team leaders, or a struggling artist, about not cutting the pupa, how it hurts the butterfly to try to “help” it at certain points, that some pain and struggle accompanies us in everything we do. The trick is to know when to step in, in other words, and to what degree. So, is it in fact true, to cut the pupa, to help the butterfly have an easier time of it, you would actually kill it? Or make it into a vicim easily picked up by a passing crow? I’m assuming yes, but I’d like to know the full science of why it’s bad.

Thank you,
P (I’ve attached your bug site, and blog to my favorites. Excellent source of clearly organized and wondrous information, good job!)

]]> By: Vanessa http://somethingscrawlinginmyhair.com/2008/03/08/monarch-butterfly/comment-page-1/#comment-396 Vanessa Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:29:09 +0000 http://somethingscrawlinginmyhair.com/2008/03/08/monarch-butterfly/#comment-396 Very good! Make a page all about it and put in their charactistics and if they are an arthropod or not and tell people all about it/them. Like where they live and stuff like that... their lifecycle could be useful too... Well... Good Lucky! Yours Truly, Vanessa L. Very good! Make a page all about it and put in their charactistics and if they are an arthropod or not and tell people all about it/them. Like where they live and stuff like that… their lifecycle could be useful too… Well… Good Lucky!

Yours Truly,
Vanessa L.

]]> By: JFargo http://somethingscrawlinginmyhair.com/2008/03/08/monarch-butterfly/comment-page-1/#comment-107 JFargo Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:03:52 +0000 http://somethingscrawlinginmyhair.com/2008/03/08/monarch-butterfly/#comment-107 Beautiful and informative. Thank you for sharing these! Beautiful and informative. Thank you for sharing these!

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