Eastern Black Swallowtail

My friend Dorthy knows how much I love butterflies, so when she had an abundance of Swallowtail chrysalises, she shared some with me.

These are the cocoons of the Eastern Black Swallowtail. In about a week to ten days a beautiful butterfly will emerge from each cocoon.

There is a picture of one green looking cocoon. In reality this is a wonderful shot of a caterpillar changing from one stage of life to another. Notice how the tip is brown and the body is still green. Amazing isn't it?

If all goes well, next week I'll be posting pictures of brand new butterflies.