# Identify this beautiful insect pupa? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 23, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-beautiful-insect-pupa/840717 "2019-09-23T19:00:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-beautiful-insect-pupa/840717/1 "2019-09-23T19:00:13Z")
So we found this attached to some leafy greens. No idea who this will become, if the pupa’s even still viable. But it’s very pretty, pearlescent green with, I kid you not, metallic gold highlights. Dorsal view [Side view [Pupa we found with metallic gold coloration. | Pinfeather Photos | Flickr](https://flic.kr/p/2hjQxFr)](][Pupa we found with metallic gold coloration. | Pinfeather Photos | Flickr](https://flic.kr/p/2hjMPTJ)[/url) My guess is this species eats leafy greens, and might be considered a “pest,” but I’m still interested in identifying the species if possible. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-beautiful-insect-pupa/840717/2 "2019-09-23T19:32:40Z")
Looks a bit like a Painted Lady? They eat thistles, so not considered a pest by anyone but Eeyore. The shape’s about right and the shiny’s right, the colour’s a little unusual, but they do vary. It’s almost certainly a _Vanessa_ sp. anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-beautiful-insect-pupa/840717/3 "2019-09-23T19:51:24Z")
It does indeed look like a Painted Lady pupa, and IMO you should quickly register the copyright for your images: they are the far, far better than [any other pictures currently online](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&biw=1263&bih=943&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=ISKJXd6mMq-q0PEPmLqj4A0&q=Painted+Lady+pupa&oq=Painted+Lady+pupa&gs_l=img.3...0.0..5212...0.0..0.0.0.......0......gws-wiz-img.EfYL-E4qqCI&ved=0ahUKEwieu8Lo2-fkAhUvFTQIHRjdCNwQ4dUDCAY&uact=5). ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-beautiful-insect-pupa/840717/4 "2019-09-24T16:47:31Z")
Excellent work – I concur that looks like what we found. In case the pupa is still alive, I put it in a thorny bush where there might be some protection. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-beautiful-insect-pupa/840717/5 "2019-09-29T22:54:42Z")
Well, well, well, The chrysalis hatched! I’m a papa! The websites I looked at said the chrysalis stage only lasts 10 days for painted Lady butterflies, so I was checking daily on the chrysalis in the bush I had moved it to. Yesterday I forgot, but late at night I remembered and went out with a flashlight. The shriveled greens it had been attached to had partially obscured it, but it looked smaller and darker in the glare of my light. “Maybe the inhabitant died,” I thought, but when I moved it into full view I could see it had burst open from the inside, and only a papery husk remained. The chrysalis had been subjected to who knows what insults while the greens were harvested, shipped, sold in the grocery store, and washed in hot water at our kitchen sink, so I am surprised and pleased the patient survived. I have not seen our little Painted lady around, but at least he or she got to fly. Here’s a shot: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48817059238_e2256fe6c7_b.jpg "The chrysalis hatched!") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/pinfeatherphotos/48817059238/) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-beautiful-insect-pupa/840717/6 "2019-09-30T01:53:21Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Well, well, well, > > The chrysalis hatched! I’m a papa! So, cigars all around? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-beautiful-insect-pupa/840717/7 "2019-09-30T15:17:58Z")
You didn’t mention that you _bought_ the leafy greens. You missed your chance at a lawsuit! Or at least [some internet fame](https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/08/17/us/wisconsin-frog-organic-salad-trnd/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DFrog%2Bin%2Bsalad%26oq%3DFrog%2Bin%2Bsalad%26gs_l%3Dmobile-heirloom-hp.12..0l5.1475.5731.0.6956.14.11.0.3.3.1.889.3649.2j2j0j4j2j0j1.11.0....0...1c.1.34.mobile-heirloom-hp..7.7.749.euhCm7HKr6Y).