I often get my inspiration from nature, and I share my interest with my husband (we call him the “butterfly whisperer”). He earned his nickname a few years ago when he started to study the Monarch butterflies in our backyard and begun planting the milkweed they like to lay their eggs on. He noticed that many of the monarch caterpillars were attacked by other insects and therefore did not make it to their butterfly stage. His solution to this problem was to bring the big, fat caterpillars, ready to transition to their next stage, inside to try and save them from their demise. He has had up 30 caterpillars and chrysalises at once sitting on a branch in our living room. Yes, a bit messy, but it has given us the opportunity to study their development up close from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. It’s amazing to see these creatures change their shape as they shred their caterpillar body into a beautiful green chrysalis - complete with a strand of “gold beads” on top. After a couple of weeks the chrysalis will darken to almost black and in the end of this cycle, just before they hatch, one can start to see the outline of their wings. And so one day it happens, after weeks of self-isolation, a big, beautiful butterfly emerges, a bit wrinkled at first, but soon ready to fly. Completely changed. And I can’t help but think that when all this is over, we too will have changed. For the better. That is my hope for the day. Here is a little video I took as I caught this caterpillar in the act of shape shifting into a chrysalis. Enjoy.
Lollo - Communications team at First Church