Two more Orchard Swallowtail butterflies emerge

Over the weekend two more butterflies emerged.  Now hopefully the lime tree can get back to the job of producing limes instead of hosting catterpillar sleepovers.   This was the first to emerge.

 There is a lot of black on this one - it is a male.  You can see the empty dry crisp chrysalis.  In the final days it becomes quite black and I realise it is becoming quite thin and the black you see is actually the butterflies wings.

 Arent they the most delicate design on these exquisite creatures?  It reminds me of the stippling technique my daughter used to practice in art clases.  Intricate tiny dots.

 Then this little lady appeared!  Isnt she pretty?  this is the female - you can see how much white there is on her wings.

 They spend quite a few hours hanging onto the branch before they can fly off.  They seem to be quite wet too, and need to dry off in the early morning sunlight - they always emerge just before dawn.  You can see a little drop of moisture just hanging from her body.

 Here is the back of the female, so now I can quite easily tell the difference between the male and the female.

I feel so blessed to be able to witness this miracle of life transforming right in my very own yard.