Summer's End

When my sister and I were little my mom would take us to find monarch caterpillars towards the end of the summer. We'd search for a patch of fresh, green milkweed - the caterpillars' favorite food - and if we were lucky, find one or two of the yellow, black, and white striped insects. We'd bring them home, set them up to continue chowing down on the milkweed in a tank, and wait...wait for the change. One day they'd seem a little slower, eating with less vigor. They'd begin a pilgrimage to the top of the tank and start to spin their silk in a more concentrated manner, and then they'd assume the position: bottoms up, head down, curled into a "J". Then the magic happened. In no time at all they'd become encased in their chrysalis, a light green pod with flecks of gold. Beautiful. Metamorphosis for a couple weeks and then the green would fade and the telltale orange and black wings of the monarch butterfly would start showing through. Once you can see the wings, it isn't long till they break free, latch on, and set out to dry their wings. It is thrill to see this as a kid. It is a thrill as a 33 year old, too. My family and I collected a few monarch caterpillars this summer. A few in MD and two here in NY. My niece MJC got to learn about the process this summer...and the tradition continues. Here are a few shots of her letting the first butterfly (sadly, slightly injured) go.