by Danielle Marie Crume

Created on: May 14, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

I recently moved next to a milkweed plant, the one plant that monarch caterpillars eat. I have had the opportunity to watch these caterpillars develop into butterflies several times and have been amazed by the miracles held within this process. The greatest beauty, however, is the symbolism in it all and the endless possibilities that it could be translated into. The interpretation is infinite.

I took a caterpillar into my home and kept it in a special caterpillar contraption designed just for this purpose. I wanted my son to see the miraculous process to open his mind about the unlimited opportunities of life. However, by the end of it all, I realized I was the one who was enraptured and enlightened by this natural process. It was one of the most interesting and amazing things I've ever seen. It was even more mind blowing that it all happened within a few weeks.

These caterpillars start as eggs, almost invisible to the naked eye. Tiny dots are left on the plant to grow alone, without the direct guidance of any parents. Within a few weeks they grow over 2,000 times their original size. Sometimes there are many more caterpillars than leaves on the plant. In these instances, it becomes "every man for himself" and those that eat first are most likely to survive. They face not only starvation, but also predators such as cats and birds, falling down and getting stepped on, curious kids, and cold weather. If they make it past all of these obstacles, they reach a stage in which they eat incredibly large amounts of leaves for a few days to store food for their transformation. Then they climb into a spot the believe will be the most safe to enter a state similar to hibernation in which they are paralyzed for about ten days. First, they hang upside down for a day or so in a "J" shape. They attach with a piece of silk-looking string that appears to be extremely delicate. As they hang, they tear through their layer of skin that they have outgrown to uncover a light green milky substance, which hardens into a chrysalis. During the tearing, it looks as if something is eating them and they pulsate very strongly. Within a half hour the caterpillar has become a total different looking being.

This is the point when my caterpillar fell down from the top. He had just torn through his old caterpillar skin when he hit to floor. He was now unable to move and no longer hanging. I felt so helpless as I saw him fall to the ground, wondering what he must be feeling as he was unable to move.

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