Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. The lifespan of adults is only 6 to 14 days! Look at how the wings have deteriorated on this one! Yet she is still beautiful and amazing. But really – how do carbon atoms consistently make themselves into these delicate beings? Every year. And especially here in the mountains where only a few weeks ago there was still snow and ice everywhere. Females will lay green shiny eggs on the underside of leaves on host plants where the larvae (caterpillars) will emerge to feed on the leaves. They will then become brown colored chrysalides that look wood-like, slung on branches and tree trunks, and hibernate over-winter. Depending on the weather, they will emerge as butterflies sometime in the springtime. She was just one of many tiny miracles that I encountered as a walked along a wooded path yesterday.
Adventures, Animals and Images 