This is my first year as a caterpillar rancher. The chrysalis stage scares me most, because if the little guys set them up in an awkward place, I am so worried I will mess up.

Good luck with your little guy. I hope to read good news in a followup.

I haven't raised monarchs in a while, so I'll have to ask, don't they make a silk pad where they form their chrysalis? I rarely ever move chrysalides, but when I do, I carefully scrape the silk off wherever the cat made it, which brings the chrysalis, with the stem/attachment intact, off in one safe piece. You don't risk cutting into the liquid body of the chrysalis, which, in my experience, means the end of the butterfly, but hopefully not in your case.
Good luck!
Sherry

They do make a silk pad, so MissSherry's technique will work. Hope he's okay, but if he isn't don't beat yourself up!

The liquid part exposed is kind of uncertain. But, I wouldn't be opposed to applying a small dab of superglue to tack down a chrysallis. I would apply a miniscule amount of glue on the normal contact points of the chrysallis, careful not to apply too much.

From the subject it sounds like the cremaster was cut and the chrysalis is leaking pupal fluids. FYI, the cremaster is the spiny appendage at the end of the abdomen (top of chrysalis) that attaches it to the silk pad (the thing that you are calling a stem). If that's the case the best choice for the bug itself is to toss it out now. As our little lady in NH suggested, don't beat yourself up over it. That's how you learn (just don't cut anymore "stems").

Yes the cremaster was cut-I do feel bad. I brought them in to help not hurt. It won't happen again.
-B

Don't feel bad, you did your best and that is all you can do. Like Ladobe said, that is how you learn, painful though it may be. I accidentally squished a 2nd instar monarch cat when I first started butterfly gardening and I felt horrible, so I know how you feel. Keep your chin up and keep butterflyin.

Mechelle

We've all made mistakes. Don't beat yourself up.

The worst mistake I ever made was with a PVS. It was laying on a paper towel when it emerged. The paper towel absorbed all the fluid. Hence the wings dried crinkled.

I carefully raised that thing for a year and just one stupid mistake and I destroyed a perfect creature. I decided to leave mother nature alone and admire it from a distance.

I hung a BST chrysalis upside down, and it didn't emerge correctly. I also dropped a Monarch chrysalis.

We need to keep it in perspective--in the wild, those caterpillars wouldn't have even made it to pupal stage. We end up helping more cats make it to butterflyhood by taking them in. Even if we bungle things up once in a while.

You are a good butterfly mom!

(Larry--"Little lady"--made me laugh--hubbie would get a get a kickk out of the seemingly docile description inherent in such an epithet. Rawr!)

Yeah, accidents happen w/ this hobby. Yesterday I found 2 RA chrysalises where they emerged & didnt have enuff room 2 expand resulting in their demise. I had completely missed finding them cuz they had pupated in foliage & I didnt find them! I was sad, but it happens....darn it!