We lived in Missouri when the kids were little, and we had black walnut trees on our acreage.  Messy as they are in autumn when the green nuts fall from the trees and turn tarry black, they are the host tree for the eggs of a magnificent moth.  The kids and I found a silken wrapped cocoon among the leaves one day in late summer and brought it into the house.  The cocoon resided on the end table under the brass lamp, and for months we didn’t give it much thought.  One day I heard a noise–a rattling, shaking noise–coming from the cocoon!  And it was moving!  In a number of days, the activity inside the cocoon increased until one morning, a wet-looking, bedraggled moth emerged and crawled up the lamp to hang on the lampshade to rest and fill its wings.  The wings were bright green with eyespots and long tails on the hind wings.  It was a big, beautiful Luna Moth!  The kids were so excited that their cocoon had ‘hatched!’  The moth flew around in the house for a few days, then laid rows of brownish eggs on the lampshade.  The adult moths do not eat–they mate, lay eggs, and die within a week of emerging from the cocoon.

The whole transforming process of butterflies and moths–from eggs to hungry caterpillars to flying adults–is intriguing and inspiring.  It is the iconic metaphor of changes in life–beginnings, development, growth, rest time, transformation and struggle, and the beauty of the emerging self.

I have collected a few photos of butterflies and caterpillars over the summer–others, like the Yellow Swallowtail, teased me with their frequent visits to the flowers, but I just wasn’t able to get their pictures.

The familiar Woolly Bear caterpillar, known for the folklore of predicting the severity of the upcoming winter, is also called the Hedgehog caterpillar because it curls up and ‘plays dead’ when disturbed.

The more interesting fact about this caterpillar is that it overwinters in its caterpillar form, producing a cryoprotectant or natural antifreeze in its tissues that allows it to live frozen all winter.  The Woolly Bear caterpillar thaws in the spring and pupates to become the little known but beautifully named Isabella Tiger Moth.

I found a Red Admiral butterfly on a tree up in the Brainerd Lakes Area and a White Admiral right outside our front door.

A Painted Lady graced the Purple Coneflowers at the College of St. Benedict, complementing one another in their colorful beauty.

On a Milkweed plant along the road by our house, a hungry, striped, Monarch caterpillar munched on its food of choice.

At the Butterfly Garden at the College of St. Benedict, a brilliantly colored Monarch in pristine condition alighted on a milkweed flower, while nearby a tattered, pale-colored one rested on buds that were not yet open.  What storms and struggles had this faded beauty been through?  It must have been close to the end of its 6-week adult life.  Only the adults who emerge from the chrysalis in late summer migrate en masse up to 3000 miles to warmer climates.

The transformation of caterpillar to butterfly is illustrated in Eric Carle’s classic children’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

In celebration of two seasons of blogging, I am giving away new 5″ x 7″ board books of The Very Hungry Caterpillar to two readers.  ‘Like’ my NorthStarNature Facebook page if you haven’t already, share this post on Facebook or with someone you know, and tell me in your comment if you feel like a caterpillar, chrysalis (cocoon), or butterfly at this time in your life!  I will randomly choose two names and let you know the winners on Friday.  Thanks to all of you for reading my blog!