This black swallowtail chrysalis is showing marvelous yellow and green coloration. I photographed the caterpillars last week. It is a very exposed location, however, with no camouflage advantage and human foot traffic passing the railing frequently. We’ll see if it can hang on for the duration, probably about two weeks or so. We are very early in the season, so we are assuming it will mature right away. The last generation of this butterfly in late summer will overwinter in this form. There’s no way this fellow is going to make it through the winter in that location! This image was taken with a Nikon D90 and our little workhorse Nikon 18-55mm AF-S DX VR lens; cropped. ISO 500, 1/60 sec, f/16. Post-processed in Aperture.
UPDATE: The chrysalis did not survive. Its location did not protect it well from heavy rains in the days following its appearance. It lost its top tethers to hang upside down. We tried to prop it back upright, but to no avail.
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