Noodle, a monarch caterpillar, takes what may be his last bites of milkweed before beginning his next transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis.
Copyright © 2026 Lisa Loucks-Christenson. All Rights Reserved.
The August Sturgeon Moon moves through Earth’s shadow during the deep partial lunar eclipse of Aug. 27–28, 2026. The darker, reddish tones visible across the Moon are the color many people associate with a Blood Moon.
Photographed Aug. 27–28, 2026. Copyright © 2026 Lisa Loucks-Christenson. All Rights Reserved.
Mercury, a monarch butterfly still inside his chrysalis, is preparing to emerge this morning. His chrysalis has darkened, and his orange-and-black wings are now visible through it.
Copyright © 2026 Lisa Loucks-Christenson. All Rights Reserved.
Moonlight, Monarchs, and the Waiting Milkweed
By Lisa Loucks-Christenson
Rochester, Minn. — Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, 8:00 a.m. CDT
Last night and into this morning, while the August Sturgeon Moon moved through Earth’s shadow during a deep partial lunar eclipse, there were other changes happening closer to the ground in the oak savanna.
I was going back and forth between filming the Moon and checking on the monarchs.
Noodle, a monarch caterpillar, had stopped eating sometime between midnight and 8 p.m. and moved to the top of his enclosure, where he appeared to be preparing to molt into another instar—possibly his final caterpillar stage before forming a chrysalis. There is always a point in raising and documenting monarchs when you begin watching more closely, knowing the caterpillar may soon find the right place to hang, form its “J,” and begin changing.
Mercury, a monarch chrysalis, is nearly ready to emerge. The chrysalis is now almost completely black, with the bright orange-and-black monarch wing pattern showing through. That darkening is one of the last signs before the butterfly comes out.
And then there is the lone male monarch.
For several days, he has been drifting through the oak savanna and returning to the milkweed. He perches nearby, moves through the plants, disappears for a while, and comes back again.
I keep telling him, “Just stay. You have friends coming soon.”
While the Moon above was slowly changing beneath Earth’s shadow, the monarchs below were moving through their own transformations—one caterpillar finishing his milkweed, one chrysalis nearing emergence, and one male butterfly waiting near the plants where more monarchs may soon join him.
The deep partial lunar eclipse was the kind of sky event that makes people stop and look up. At its greatest point, nearly all of the Moon moved into Earth’s darkest shadow, creating the dark, reddish appearance often associated with a Blood Moon. But the smaller stories on the ground mattered just as much to me: a caterpillar eating, a chrysalis darkening, a butterfly returning to milkweed.space+1
I went inside around 1:15 a.m. to check on the monarchs after filming the Moon through the strongest part of the eclipse. By then, the brightest eclipse moments had passed, but the softer outer portion of Earth’s shadow was still dimming the Sturgeon Moon.
That was the rhythm of the night: out to the Moon, back to the monarchs, out again to the oak savanna, then in again to check on the next small miracle.
Nature does not schedule its transformations one at a time. On some nights, a Moon slips into shadow, a chrysalis turns black with hidden wings, a caterpillar takes what may be its last bites of milkweed, and a lone monarch waits among the plants.
Those are the nights that remind me to keep the cameras nearby.
About the Author
Lisa Loucks-Christenson is an independent author, illustrator, journalist, wildlife photographer, filmmaker, and publisher with Lisa Loucks-Christenson Publishing, LLC. Her work blends firsthand wildlife observation, environmental storytelling, regional journalism, documentary production, illustration, photography, and original fiction.
She documents monarchs, birds, insects, wildlife, night skies, oak savannas, wetlands, and river landscapes through field notes, photography, video, books, and educational visual storytelling. Her current creative projects include Wakefield, Minnesota, Wakefield Landing, nature documentaries, illustrated stories, serialized fiction, and multimedia educational content.
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