Blue morpho butterflies emerge from their chrysalises

From the Natural History Museum in London, watch as these blue morpho butterflies emerge from their chrysalises in the Sensational Butterflies exhibition’s beautifully organized chrysalis hatchery. From Time Out:

The Natural History Museum’s butterfly house returns for a seventh year in 2015 to a specially constructed tropical enclosure on the Museum’s east lawn. Visitors can come face-to-face with tropical butterflies, including the swallowtail, blue morpho, the moon moth and many others originating from Africa, Southeast Asia and North and South America, and take part in games, activities and challenges that teach more about the sensory world of the fluttering creatures…

Each year, hundreds of tropical chrysalises arrive at Heathrow from all over the world, destined for the tender care of the Museum’s expert lepidopterist Luke Brown – also a skilled butterfly midwife, who watches lovingly over their metamorphoses, and steps in with a pin to help the little insects free of their leaf-shaped pods if they’re struggling. In the wild, only 10 to 15 percent of them will make this extraordinary transformation from hairy caterpillar to nectar-sipping glider: here, the success rate is more like 85 percent.

Sensational Butterflies continues until September 15th, 2015. Watch this next: What Gives the Morpho Butterfly Its Magnificent Blue?

via @ZiyaTong.