Monarch Butterfly Emerging from Chrysalis

Getting to watch an adult monarch butterfly emerge from its chrysalis is something most of us never get the opportunity to do, so we thought we’d share these photos. These were taken in 2018 and are of a monarch that had been housed in a live display at the Bismarck office.

As a monarch’s time to emerge nears, the once greenish chrysalis appears black with clear areas where the butterfly inside can be seen. Once the chrysalis begins splitting, the butterfly is out within seconds. It then spends the next several minutes expanding its wings and abdomen. After an hour or two the butterfly takes its first flight.

After emerging, this monarch was released into one of the native wildflower plantings around the office. He likely migrated that fall to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico (about 60 miles northwest of Mexico City) where he would have spent his winter before beginning the annual four-generation monarch migration anew next spring.