Mercury Joins Galaxy: Two Gold Crowns Await Their Wings

By Lisa Loucks-Christenson
Lisa Loucks-Christenson Publishing | Faith & Devotionals
August 12, 2026

When I checked the monarch caterpillars this morning, Mercury had joined Galaxy.

Sometime overnight or during the early morning hours of August 12, Mercury completed the final transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis. Beneath the enclosure lid, a new gold crown awaited—sealed safely in place and beginning the hidden work of becoming.

Galaxy became the first of the nine surviving monarch caterpillars to form a chrysalis on August 11. Mercury followed. 

Now two chrysalises hang safely beneath their enclosure lids.

The yellow dots that marked their new forms have begun their shift to gold. Inside each jade-green chrysalis, a transformation is underway that cannot yet be seen. Monarchs commonly remain in the chrysalis stage for a couple weeks in my house, where the air is cool.

If all continues as hoped, the third week of August may bring the first wings.

It feels fitting. Our oak savanna is already beginning its seasonal turn. A few leaves have started to fall. At sunrise and sunset, the pace outside is hurried: creatures gather acorns and seeds, while tassels of milkweed and thistle seed drift through the air on paths determined by the wind.

Soon, Galaxy and Mercury may join that changing landscape with wings of their own.

Seven caterpillars remain in care. Earth may be next. Noodle, the youngest of the nine, is expected to begin preparing for transformation around the time Galaxy and Mercury may be ready to emerge.

One monarch may be opening its wings while another begins the unseen work of becoming.

That is the rhythm of NINE: My Mistakes, His Grace: How Nine Monarch Caterpillars Taught Us That Faith Comes Before Wings.

The chrysalis is the gold crown. The wings are still unseen.

But grace is already at work.

Faith comes before wings.

Photo caption

Mercury, a newly formed monarch chrysalis, hangs securely beneath the enclosure lid on the morning of August 12, 2026. Mercury joined Galaxy, who formed a chrysalis on August 11. Both are expected to emerge as butterflies during the third week of August, depending on their development and conditions.

Photo and documentation by Lisa Loucks-Christenson.

About the author

Lisa Loucks-Christenson is an investigative journalist, author, illustrator, documentary filmmaker, and environmental storyteller. Through writing, photography, field documentaries, and personal observation, she explores wildlife, faith, survival, and the connections between people and the natural world. She is the creator of TRIO OF MONARCHS, Dolly: The Caterpillar I Knew Inside the Butterfly, and the developing documentary and book NINE: My Mistakes, His Grace.

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