Nature's Tiny Jewel

I found this chrysalis in the garden, so removed the leaf it was on and it's now sitting in one of my enclosures, waiting to become a butterfly.  If you look very closely, you can already see the pattern and some of the color of the wings through the green chrysalis.  One of the things that I always marvel at is the band of shimmery gold around the top of the chrysalis.  There is a very long and detailed scientific explanation as to what cause this and the other random gold flecks on the chrysalis, but it's basically to do with the carotenoids in their diet of milkweed.  I can't imagine a jewel more beautiful - can you?


We had more rain again last night, so this was covered in droplets, making for a nice image.  I cropped this about 10% and still had to resize it to get it to upload.  Taken with my 105 mm macro lens and an extension tube.  Suitable for TinyTuesday, I think.  And thanks to Nickimags888 for hosting!


Hubs and I hit the gym today - weights and 25 minutes of cardio for me.  Hoping to get over to the Arts and Heritage gallery this afternoon where I have two photos on exhibit.  


Still stinkeroo hot today, so I'm not spending a whole lot of time outside.  Besides, I have a bit of a backlog of things to attend to in my office.  Yuck.  


xo
Debbi