Becoming

In the mid 1990s, Mary Kuhlberg, the Butterfly Lady in Grand Forks, gave us some Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars to tend while she and her husband were out of town. The Caterpillars were in a glass jar and our jobs were to find Milkweed for the hungry little critters, give protected space for the Chrysalis stage, and then to release the Butterflies upon emergence. We took our jobs very seriously and tuned into the Butterfly Channel every chance we could.

Late in the 1990s, Kathleen Brokke rode her bicycle over to our house and in her basket, she had tucked a gift of Swamp Milkweed. This amazing Tallgrass Prairie plant is a host plant for Monarchs.

We planted Swamp Milkweed outside the back and front picture windows of the house. We had easy chairs inside for the Humans to view the Monarch activity while we sipped cups of tea during our own quiet time. While the Caterpillars had been in the glass jar before, we Humans were in our own "jar" instead.

When we moved to this little Farm in May 2007, I knew I wanted Swamp Milkweed. Northeast Missouri is also within the Tallgrass Prairie region, so I knew I could raise it here. Sarah Saltmarsh graciously shared a plant with us for our new home last summer. That Swamp Milkweed is prolific. The Monarchs and the 3 C's are delighted.

I am happy to report that while the Monarchs seemed scarce earlier in the Summer, the Butterflies are now abundant and highly energized with their upcoming adventures. We see the Monarchs nectaring on the flowers. Other times, we see the Mama Monarchs laying eggs on the Swamp Milkweed. After a while, we watch Caterpillars munching away while grow, grow, growing. These youngsters can really eat. (They can really poop too.)

When the Caterpillar stage is complete, they move away to a secret place of transformation. When that special place is found, they go into the "J" shape. Shortly thereafter, the Caterpillar goes into Chrysalis (Cocoon). While we have not seen this happen, we have come upon them shortly thereafter. Those Caterpillars in J shape seem to unpeel their striped outer skin almost like taking off a pair of tights. That layer drops away to reveal a clear soft green form with trails of regal gold dots.

Time passes. We wonder what is going on inside. Within 10 days to 2 weeks, the color of the Chrysalis begins to change. We can see the pattern of wings developing inside (which you can see above).

Then the Butterfly emerges. The Butterfly hangs suspended from the now empty and clear Cocoon. In the beginning, the newly emerged Butterfly seems somewhat crumpled up and the wings are smaller. During this early stage, the wings are being "pumped up" to become full size.

After about 4 hours, the Monarch is ready to begin exploring the world around with those new wings. We see them 1st in the immediate space surrounding the Cocoon. Then, S/He is gone, following their own adventures along the skyward path.

From my reading, my notes (with source unknown) suggest that the Egg stage is usually about 4-6 days, the Caterpillar stage is about 2-3 weeks, the Chrysalis is 5-15 days. This is consistent with out experience. We do know that the hotter the weather, the more the process seems to speed up. Stokes Butterfly Book: The Complete Guide to Butterfly Gardening, Identification and Behavior is a great resource.

When I think about the Butterfly on her/his path to becoming, I am in awe. The transformation of this lovely creature is a metaphor for us to celebrate our own stages of growing, shedding, discovering. We too are on paths of becoming all that we are meant to be. How cool is that.

Note: If you look carefully, you will see the antenna of a Caterpillar tucked into the flowers of the Swamp Milkweed in the 1st photo. Munching away...