Having escaped from the confines of his old skin, the pupa does a very active little dance in which he pulls his skin upward, condensing his upper half and elongating his lower half to form the familiar chrysalis.
Usually, though not always, the old skin falls off during the
squirming and twisting of the dance.
At this point, you can begin to see the dotted line that will
become the "gold thread" that is characteristic of a monarch chrysalis. The
bulges above it will condense into a relatively smooth, short dome.
The dance takes about twenty minutes. In a few hours, the chrysalis is
smooth and firm
Next: ...then, a miracle occurs...
All images herein are Copyright 2004, by Roy Johnson. Please do not use them without express permission.