This sequence took 13 minutes from beginning to end. 10 minutes later another adult emerged and I got another sequence of photos. Notice the size of the abdomen. It is full of the liquid that is pumped into the wings to expand them and the abdomen is flexed to pump the liquid until the wings are at flight capability. The butterfly will be ready for flight after about 5 hours. The butterfly will flex it's proboscis (tongue) and expel the excess fluid from it's abdomen prior to flight. This Monarch will be tagged and released Wednesday morning at Fox Island County Park.
Photos: J. Ormiston
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