I brought two chrysalis' inside as they were in a bad location, one normal green and one white. I had never seen a white chrysalis survive before, but thought I'd give it a try. On July 12th the green chrysalis hatched and I took the monarch outside and placed it on a milkweed plant where it dried it's wings and took off. I was thinking the white chrysalis simply didn't survive but decided to give it a couple of days. On the morning of July 14th a healthy monarch hatched out of the white chrysalis and I took it outside, where he flew away just a few minutes ago.

Sounds like this one didn't make it. Take heart...2 out of 3 isn't bad. Black coloration (Totally Black) is not good in any species where chrysalids are concerned. This usually indicates a fungus or bacteria is busy breaking down the now dead pupa. This is common and is natures way of insuring the strongest individuals survive.

Hello! Could this be a chrysalis as well? It was on the stairs to my basement and unfortunately my daughter accidentally stepped on it. I tooa a photo bc I wasnt sure if it could be some kind of animal scat or egg of something horrendous. Now that I saw the above chrysalis Im feeling terrible that it could have been from something beautiful. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance! Oh... it's about 1 1/4" long and bright green gooey stuff came out :( It was very smooth, thick, and rubbery, almost like something plastic. I didnt notice any adornment at all, however.

Uggggggh. I am now pretty sure it was a chalcid wasp. I looked at another one of my chrysalises - this one formed just a few days ago. I read online to look for black dots on the chrysalis, indicating where the wasp injected the eggs, and there they are :( I am going to take any of the caterpillars that are now looking to attach and move them to a safe container that has the vents covered with cut up pantyhose. I'll give them a quick water rinse first to knock off any lurking wasps. My other caterpillars, BSTs and TSTs, will also be moved to safe containers. I'm so bummed about this, but at least I learned something new and know what to look for. I would have had a heart attack if hundreds of wasps came out of my chrysalises! Click photo to enlarge. Those random small black dots do not belong there :( If I have the courage, I will cut open the first chrysalis in this post and take photos. I will leave it in the freezer for a few more days to ensure that anything in there is dead before I cut it open!