It all began when my nephew, Jack, brought me a plant to identify. It tickles him to challenge me that way since I am not born and raised in North Carolina. I correctly identified it as a Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnata). Locals like to call it a 'Maypop' because the ripe fruit has extra space in its rind and makes a popping sound when you step on it. I don't like to try that out because then the fruit is ruined. I
was quite surprised to find it growing in North Carolina because I thought it was a tropical plant, having grown it in Hawaii. I planted it in our kitchen garden that is by our front porch.
Boy was I surprised to find lovely orange and black caterpillars all over the plant. This reminder be of a book I love, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." This plant is the only thing a Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar Eats. It was so awesome to stand and watch these caterpillars eat like they were starving They were storing up for their big event.
Everyday I would look to see all the caterpillars and then I noticed the first chrysalis.
The caterpillar climbed up our house walls to the top where the roof was, found a place it liked, and then hanging upside down it spun a chrysalis. It wasn't long before they were everywhere along our house eaves and windows. Their chrysalids are small works of art, each slightly different in color or shape.
You see the black fuzzy thing in the photo to the left? I had to know what that was! Research tells me that it is the caterpillars skin. Can you imagine? It is like it begins to spin new clothes and as it does it takes its caterpillar clothes off and when it's done spinning, the last thing it does is shove those old things out the door.
When they come out of the chrysalis they have changed into a butterfly. The magic of metamorphosis!
The Day Has Come!!
I get to see the beautiful butterfly emerge from its chrysalis. "Wow!" is all I can say. First it hangs there a bit. I think maybe it must be like waking up surprised.
It begins to dry it's wings by opening and closing them. Hey, it is looking right at me! It knows I won't hurt it. Finally it opens it's wings all the way. So pretty! I like the orange with black dots upper side. But I love the underneath with the silver spots thrown in.
My Butterfly Adventure Continues... (2024)
They have come back. I am so excited to see them again. Each year, it is my special surprise. I take pictures so I can enjoy them again and again. I even take a picture with a tape measure to show how tiny they are at the start.
This year, I wanted to have a monarch place too. They are such brave fellers to fly so very far. And they are cool. They can be one of hundreds of thousands or even a billion that hang together in harmony in the trees of Mexico's Oyamel fir forests. Did you know that it takes three or five generations to complete their annual migration? What a wonder that is! I don't know what my great-grandfather's mission in life was. These butterflies do and they share that mission in life through generations.
First, I bought some milkweed seeds. Milkweed is the only plant a monarch caterpillar eats. I planted them in pots to begin with. This daughter of my heart, Beth, helped me clean out a garden bed and plant our milkweed plants. As we removed them from the pots, we were surprised to find three small monarch caterpillars on the plants. There wasn't many and they were tiny, but we thought that was very cool! Every day I would check them out, watch them eat, take their picture and just look in wonder.
There were only three caterpillars this first year and one day all three were gone. I felt terrible! "Beth, I think something ate them!" She looked it up and found they could make their chrysalis up to 30 feet away. The hunt was on!
There they were on the greenhouse next to the milkweed plants. One on the first rafter, one on a middle rafter, and oh dear...the third one has chosen poorly and has made its chrysalis between the glass and the shade cloth of the greenhouse. When it hatches the shade cloth will destroy its wings! We must help it!
Slowly and carefully Beth unhooks the shade cloth and folds it down making sure the chrysalis stays attached.
The first monarch was hatched and flew away just as Beth approached. The second monarch was hatched, we got one picture and it flew away in front of my husband, Done, and I. We would have loved to have seen it emerge, but we waved goodbye and wished it well.
The third monarch would be a very special one. First, it was a beautiful light green chrysalis. It has sparkly places on the outside, especially the ones in a row near the top.
The came the day that its chrysalis turned clear and we could see the monarch colors. Now we knew it would hatch very soon. We have a school so once we set up a step ladder everyone wanted to climb up and take a picture.
One person named Larry, a co-founder of our school, used to be a ranger. He loves nature and stood watch while the rest of us went back to work. He told us when it began to hatch and we all rushed down to see it. He saw it open it's wings, saw no black dots, so he knew it was a brand new girl butterfly.
The Adventure Continues... (2025)
This year I am more involved with the butterflies. I have studied up in a most scientific manner. I have put all other residents under strict orders to call me for anything that happens and to be careful where they step.
Like they say in the movie, Field of Dreams, "If you build it they will come!" Or in our case, it would be, "If you plant it they will come!" And they do!
I am so excited to see these ladies. They say only the females lay the eggs, tiny white eggs. How beautiful is she at her work. She has chosen the very tip tallest branch to lay her eggs on.
In just a few days there are caterpillars everywhere!
They are up high
And they are down low
Some are fast,
And some are slow.
Together they much away.
Sun or rain, all the day.
Now they scale the high house walls.
They have totally got the crawls.
Now they're hanging and spinning, too.
I am quite amazed at what a caterpillar can do!
They are hatching almost every day. At one point I counted 137 chrystalis on our house. It is a good thing my photos are digital or I might need a whole room for my photos.
Nature is so magnificently amazing.
Now the monarchs come to lay eggs and the caterpillars are born. I am so excited as last year. Soon we have the first two monarch chrysalis.
Tiny caterpillars, loads of tiny caterpillars, and the first chrysalis turns clear and we know it will be born...It's a boy! You can tell because of the two black spots on it's lower wings. What an adventured this has been, and I hope it will be next year too. Nature is just plain amazing!
Phoebe over and out.
