There is nothing like a good dose of nature to put things in perspective. Right now my family and I are in the midst of a prolific journey watching an egg hatch into a caterpillar and then watching that caterpillar turn into a butterfly - a monarch's tale. This is something I learned to appreciate when I was a little kid and luckily I've been able to pass the tradition onto my kids who hopefully will do the same.
I was probably about 8 or 9 when I raised my first butterfly. Our babysitter at the time took my brother, sister and I for a walk and pointed out milkweed plants. They looked like ordinary weeds to me, but the underside of the plant's leaves possibly held a secret - a tiny little white bump that contained a teeny, tiny caterpillar. A tiny guy that would make a most amazing transformation from fat stripey wiggler to magnificent winged butterfly.
My babysitter's dad was a biology teacher. I never had the opportunity to have him in class, but I am guessing he played some part in me having this unique experience. And it truly is a unique experience. It makes me confident in my belief that there is something bigger out there who had a hand in creating this great world we live in. In the United States alone there are 750 species of butterflies - worldwide there are more than 17,000!
If I was creating a species I might make at least three but less than ten. I am not sure where you stand on this but I am confident that the number 17,000 (17,500 to be almost exact) would not be your target number either. But this number gets even more staggering when you try to wrap your head around the insect family, which butterflies are a part of. It is estimated that more than 900 thousand insect species exist in the world. And that number might be a conservative guess according to a Smithsonian Encyclopedia website. We could be talking 30 million.
So yeah, I've bored you with some figures but only to illustrate my point. All these beautiful butterflies cannot be random. Plus, the process of changing from caterpillar to butterfly includes a period of time when the caterpillar is wrapped in a cocoon. I don't know what is happening in there (which is what is currently happening in our special container right now) but it is a little weird. The monarch caterpillar hangs upside down making a letter "J" and its white, black and yellow striped body (cue the Wiz Kalifa jam) turns into a green pod with gold trim. Random - I don't think so.
The cocoon will eventually turn black as the butterfly prepares to emerge. Once it does, it's orange and black wings are wet and need to dry. This is the part I did not like so much when I first raised a butterfly. I was supposed to put my hand in the jar so it would climb aboard my arm to finally take flight. I did not want a "bug" crawling on my arm so I laid the jar down sideways on the porch so it could find its way out. Yes, I was chicken and I regret that, but luckily my kids do not mind getting right in there. The moments I have caught on camera with a butterfly on their little arms are precious.
They fly away and although it is sad to see them go, the butterfly has work to do. Within a few weeks, our butterfly will lay eggs on milkweed plants somewhere in the south. Those eggs will hatch and eventually complete a four generation cycle (completed in one year) that will wind up flying to Mexico. Our butterfly will not live long but will have done its job to keep its species alive.
So now is where you thank me for the biology lesson. You're welcome. But seriously, nature is amazing when you stop to think about it. We take for granted these little beauties of nature. Unless someone would have taken the time to show me this wonder up close and personal - (decades ago), I never would have known the backstory. So thank you, Carol wherever you are. After all these years the fascination with monarch butterflies continues.
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