A first

We found two caterpillars quite late this year, so we brought them home. This one is Jester, who emerged in the wee hours of September 26. As a caterpillar, Jester was quite plump, and she trudged around the aquarium for a long time before finally forming a chrysalis on a milkweed leaf instead of on the aquarium lid. We taped the leaf up after it dried out and were relieved that the butterfly got off to a good start on a warm day.

The other was a noticeably small caterpillar we dubbed Maverick. Maverick was on a milkweed plant with two spider sacs and a large spider, so by bringing him home we thought we increased his chances. But he formed a chrysalis earlier than expected, while he was still small, and the chrysalis was only about 2/3 the size of a typical one.

It seemed to develop normally, and the butterfly seemed fully developed, but it never emerged. This is a first, and it was a sad way to end the season. The metamorphosis is such an amazing process, and a good metaphor for change and growth. This one was essentially stillborn — seemingly perfect, yet the process didn’t complete.

My daughter helped me remove it from the aquarium lid, and we hung it, by a thread tied around the little black hanger on top, from a bush outside. I couldn’t throw it out. “It would be a great place to emerge,” she remarked. Indeed it would. If only.