Before and After: A Monarch’s First Day as a Butterfly

This before-and-after image shows a monarch newly emerged from its chrysalis. The photos are only two hours apart in time. The monarch's wings in the after shot are still small and weak. Monarchs generally need to hold onto their chrysalises for at least two hours after first emerging, waiting for fluid to pump into their wings and make them strong enough to fly. (Photos: Laurie Clark)

Orchids can be tricky, but they also can be kind. 

#WhatWouldOrchidsDo? Platanthera psycodes, one of the most fragrant of North America's orchids, rewards insects drawn by its color and scent with a tasty drink, no matter the time of day (or night). Vote orchids in the Smithsonian Showdown! 

A small butterfly on clover at #SERC. (at Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Maryland)

A summer azure (Celastrina neglecta) on a clover head. This small butterfly has a wingspan of about one inch. 

Photo credit to Bonnie Ott. Taken during SERC’s BugBlitz in Edgewater, Maryland.

We’ll celebrate day three of National Pollinator Week with this Appalachian Brown butterfly. Check out those blue eyes and eyespots! 

Photo credit to Bonnie Ott. Taken during SERC’s BugBlitz in Edgewater, Maryland.

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It’s the first day of National Pollinator Week!

Pollinators, like butterflies, move pollen from male flower parts to female flower parts to complete fertilization.

http://northamericanorchidcenter.org/featured-orchids-and-insects/

Photo credit to Jim Fowler.