Swallowtail Chrysalis

Description:

A week or ten days after the last moult of its caterpillar growth the larva commonly becomes full fed and ready to change into the chrysalis state. In general, the caterpillar provides a web of silk which it spins against some surface where the chrysalis will be secure and in this web it entangles its hind legs. The caterpillar hangs downward. The skin splits open along the median line of the back and gradually shrinks upward until it is almost free. When the caterpillar's skin is nearly off this chrysalis-like object it usually wriggles its body quickly in a manner to entangle a curious set of hooks attached to the upper end in a web of silken thread. Then the skin falls off. The outer tissues harden into the characteristic chrysalis skin.

Habitat:

Shrub, secure surface of the outside of a house.

Notes:

Who would ever believe this ugly looking Chrysalis would turn into such a beautiful butterfly.