Diversions 101

Because I am a nature nut, and because it makes me happy, and mostly because I can, I plant milkweed in my yard to attract Monarch butterfly larva. And because, once, I watched in horror as wasps made off with the little caterpillars, I look for them and bring them indoors where I have to worry about keeping fresh leaves stocked and cleaning up caterpillar poop, which is called frass. But oh, the quick gratification. Not at all like waiting all year for a moth to emerge. The lovely monarch has a very quick turn around time, mere days from cocoon to emergence. It's magic of the highest order, every bit of it. The part I find most mesmerizing is the stage where the caterpillar shrugs off its skin and becomes the green lump that becomes the turquoise gilded chrysalis. It looks violent and painful, and it makes no sense that it can occur right in front of my eyes, no matter how many times I watch it happen.

For the record, I've been doing this for years now. My rural childhood was made magic by caterpillars, moths and butterflies. One summer, an entire batch of caterpillar eggs hatched in our kitchen window, which delighted my mom and dad, so our summer was filled with terrariums filled with green Cecropia caterpillars, which are so huge they make the largest tomato hornworm look puny. They emerge the largest moth in North America, one of the most beautiful creatures on the planet. We set more than a dozen free that next summer, after waiting all winter to see them, and I have been forever transformed by that magical experience.

Maybe this Monarch will make the journey to Mexico and return to lay eggs in my yard next summer. I certainly hope so. I'll be watching.







This one emerged this morning, very early. It took several hours for the wings to become rigid, and by this afternoon, it flew away. But I'm not sad. I have another chrysalis that should hatch next week, and one caterpillar almost ready to cocoon, and a tiny little one that needs another week or two to grow big enough to work its own magic. I'll keep you posted.