Make Way For Monarchs! by Jane Kelley

Sometimes you have to change your plans. The month of September was supposed to be the 7th month. That's what its name means. But some Roman emperors had other ideas. Hello, July and August! Not all disruptions are unwelcome. I was totally delighted to come back from vacation to find my Asclepias butterfly weed in shambles.

Four monarch caterpillars were devouring the leaves. Their appearance seemed miraculous. Obviously, unbeknownst to me, a butterfly had laid her eggs on my plant.

My excitement soon turned to panic. I didn't have a field full of milkweed. I only had one plant. What would I feed the caterpillars when those leaves were gone? I had a bag full of milkweed seeds that I planned to sprout next spring. I didn't think these caterpillars would wait. 

Luckily, my friends Tom and Joanne had a place in northern Wisconsin where there were fields full of the milkweed. Joanne agreed to bring me some. They also had a mesh cage designed to keep the caterpillars safe. This was a good thing. Two of the caterpillars had already wandered off to find their own food. Or maybe to start their final transition. 

The transition from caterpillar to butterfly does seem like a miracle. How do the caterpillars do it? Are they anxious? Excited? Humans would be making such a fuss about metamorphosis. Can you imagine the trauma and drama we'd concoct for the event? The caterpillars I observed simply did what they had to do. They ate. They pooped. They got on with what they were meant to do--prepare to fly.

The two that remained stopped eating. They found a spot to hang from. They assumed the shape of a J. Their striped skin split open. They wriggled out from it all the while dangling from a thread. The caterpillar skin fell to the floor of the cage. If you look closely, you can see what was left of the antenna.

What remained was the classic pale green chrysalis. Decorated by a necklace of golden dots.

One of the caterpillars was less successful at getting rid of its old self. 

The mom in me considered helping it change out of its old clothes. But I decided it will be fine. They did all this without my help. Just my astonished admiration.

JANE KELLEY is a devotee of monarch butterflies--and the author of many middle grade novels, including a WIP about a girl who must persuade her dad to let their manicured lawn be a haven for all kinds of plants and insects--especially monarch butterflies.