UPDATE #2: Butterflies in Space!

On Nov. 16, caterpillars were launched to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Atlantis as part of an experiment conducted by BioEd. Click here to learn more about the background of this experiment or click here to read the first update.

All of the "Space Caterpillars" have now completed the final stage of their life cycle - emergence as butterflies! All four of the painted ladies butterflies emerged last week, followed by all three monarchs a few days later.

Only one of the butterflies, a monarch, appears to have had any trouble emerging and inflating wings. Considering our own experiences raising caterpillars in the lab at MOSI, this seems like a pretty good success rate. The butterfly that struggled to inflate its wings may have been affected by the zero-gravity environment, but it seems more likely it simply had developmental problems in chrysalis, as some butterflies do. Scientists may be able to learn more when the butterflies are brought back from space this winter.

Monarch Watch was able to post some spectacular videos, a couple of which are shown below. In the first video, a butterfly struggles to emerge from chrysalis. This particular one was a "floater" - the caterpillar did not manage to attach itself to the silk pad when pupating. We should note that being a "floater" did not impact this butterfly's ultimate ability to emerge and inflate its wings, despite the wild ride it took along the way!


Having watched many butterflies emerge, I can say that it seems to have been a little more difficult for this one than those I've observed on earth. Without the chrysalis being attached to anything, the butterfly couldn't really grab onto anything to pull itself free. That being said, out in the real world, this butterfly would most likely have never made it this far. If it had fallen while pupating and landed on the ground, ants or other predators would have carried it off before it ever had a chance to develop.

In this next video, the same butterfly is seen working to inflate its wings. This video is shown at 5 times the normal speed - the total time covered by the video is almost 8 minutes. Again, it seems to me it might have been more difficult for the butterfly to perform this process than it would have been on earth.



There are more videos and plenty of photos of the monarchs available at Monarch Watch's website - be sure to check them out!

What's Next?
You may be wondering what's next for these pioneering space butterflies. Well, the answer is, what you see is what you get. These butterflies will live out the rest of their lives in these rearing chambers. Along the left wall, nectar feeding stations have been opened for them, so they do have food. However, no host plants are available for them, so even if they should mate, there would be no where to lay eggs and start the process over again. Instead, they will live the next few weeks or so flying amongst their own frass (that's caterpillar poo to you and me!) until their lives wind down to an end.

The rearing chambers and all contents, including butterflies, will be brought back to earth when the next shuttle mission (STS-130) visits the ISS in early 2010. If more information is available then, we'll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, you can continue to follow the butterflies yourself from any of the following links.

• BioEd Online: Butterflies in Space
• Monarchs in Space photos
• Monarchs in Space videos
• Follow on Facebook
• Follow on Twitter

About the Author: Jill Staake is a volunteer at the MOSI BioWorks Butterfly garden who also writes the blog My Florida Backyard which is her story of transforming her suburban yard into a habitat for wildlife and her observations. Jill is also a regular contributor to the popular Tampa blog Sticks of Fire where she publishes posts about gardening in Tampa Bay.