I have had this happen several times... sometimes the Monarchs emerge and sometimes they don't. I don't think the liquid is necessarily indicative of a problem. I've had Monarchs roll around, thrashing about with that green liquid pretty much creating what we came to call the "green blood bath." SOme of those same cats emerged as beautiful butterflies. On the other hand, some of the most perfect chrysalids never emerge. Nature is tricky that way. I finally learned not to take it personally, but I can't tell you how hard it was the first time I had to freeze one that was obviously NOT going to make it. I hope all works well.

I'd wait and see how it goes when they emerge. They can do fine on the bottom of cage, and I put them on a cloth with a paper towel to climb up and dry the wings. Good luck.

I have successfully attached BST chrysalises to a couple sticks in the aquarium tank where I usually put the cast when they are ready to pupate. If you have strands of silk on the ends of the chrysalis you can tape the silk to a stick or other surface. If there is no silk, I have taken a long thin piece of masking tape (approx 1/4 inch wide x 2 or 3 inches long) and wrapped it around the midsection of the chrysalis, and taped it to the stick. In both cases, I try to mimic the natural positioning of a chrysalis. This has been pretty successful. They usually come out and hang from the stick or chrysalis. If I were on my desktop I could probably post a picture! Oh, and the mesh pop up enclosures are great for butterflies. The mesh is soft and easy for the butterfly to cling to and hang on. I've got 5 Monarch chrysalises in a 12 x 12 pop up right now.

Betty, Don't worry about moving the silly caterpillar that pupated so low. :) The butterfly will crawl UP in order to stretch and harden its wings. IF you want to move the stick to a different location, you can always do that, though. Your choice! Know that many butterfly babies die in their 1st and 2nd instars. This is very common. Keep in mind also that swallowtails tend to be more cannibalistic than some of the other species. I've found, from my own experience, that by making a 'salad' of host plant foods, my larvae do better than when I feed only one specific food. I currently am raising Anise Swallowtails, which are similar to the Black Swallowtails here on the West Coast, and I also provide a 'salad' of Curled Parsley and Dill right now to begin with. I've also found that by doing this, IF you find later on that you are short of a particular host plant, then your babies won't go on a hunger strike but are happy eating whatever you do provide because they've eaten it before! It also SEEMS like the larvae were healthier on the 'salad' than on a single-host diet, but I don't know for sure... Have fun! tdogmom aka CalSherry