Monarch butterfly pupa

Pupa (also known as chrysalis) tucked away out of danger. You can see the wing markings through the thin pupa.

When my parents wintered in south Texas, they grew butterfly-friendly plants to help the Monarch butterflies, which are in danger in North America. The butterflies would head north from Mexico and lay eggs in my parents’ garden. The eggs would hatch, the caterpillars would gorge themselves, and then they’d crawl off to what they considered to be a safe location (including under lawn chairs!). Then the magic would happen inside the pupa.

“Chrysalis is a Greek word for gold. Scientists are unsure about why the gold band and spots appear on the chrysalis. … After about 10 days, the final moult reveals an adult butterfly. The enlarged abdomen is full of fluid. The butterfly pumps the fluid into its crumpled wings until they become full and stiff.” (source)

How did something so large fit into that small container?

Posted for Becky’s SquareUp challenge. I’ve gone with “playing around with the word up”.