Monarch of the Conservatory Garden

Last Sunday [10/16] an e-mail arrived from Rebekah Creshkoff. It said:

Mike Freeman just showed me a Monarch recently emerged from its chrysalis in the Conservatory Garden and 3 more huge caterpillars. Didn't have camera, alas. Going back tomorrow.

The next day I wrote Rebekah: Did you go back? In response she sent me the photos below, taken on Monday, October 17 at 8:30 a.m.:

Note the remains of the chrysalis on the bottom of the rainbow chard leaf in the photo above

Today [10/18] Rebekah wrote: Stopped by Conservatory Garden this a.m. The butterfly had flown, but the off-milkweed caterpillar still hadn't started wrapping itself.