The Nature Lesson: Butterflies

I cringed when she opened the package. It was my daughter Kelsey's 10th birthday, and she'd received a butterfly kit from a well-intentioned relative.

Well, at least it wasn't a chemistry set. The little booklet made it seem like a pretty easy lesson about nature, I thought, as we filled out the enclosed form to request the caterpillars.

Waiting for the little critters to show up in the mail, I pictured my family of five all hovering around the plastic cage, observing this lesson as we watched Mother Nature at work.

These painted lady butterflies would be brief and interesting visitors, unlike the long-term commitments of the Golden Retriever we'd brought home from the SPCA and our Blackie cat we were still mourning. We also had recently brought a new rescue kitty, Chloe, into our home, and she'd promptly established herself on Kelsey's desk. 

When the caterpillars showed up, we were ready to begin the lesson. We moved Chloe off of the desk and out of the bedroom, and we set up the habitat. As the caterpillars crawled around and eventually spun themselves into their little chrysalises, I regretted my initial unease. I know I tend to be the family fun-sucker. I worry. That's my job.

But this was kind of fun. And interesting. And educational. Moms like simple lessons about life. We all enjoyed the anticipation of opening the bedroom door to peak in at Mother Nature's progress. And as we secured the door again, we'd wonder what would be next in this lesson of observation.

The next part of the lesson was that of patience. It would take a little over a week for the pupae to transform themselves during the metamorphosis stage.

At last, right on schedule, they emerged. Painted lady butterflies! Bright orange and speckled, they were beautiful!!

Having the miracle of metamorphosis display itself right before our eyes was amazing. They rested magnificently inside their plastic habitat as their wings hardened.

We planned to release the butterflies into the yard as part of the lesson. We hoped that they would stick around during their brief two-weeks of remaining life expectancy.

But the next part of the lesson turned out to be the most difficult, as one day Kelsey walked up the stairs to her room and was surprised to find the door ajar. And just inside, crouched on the floor, was Chloe, happily eating a butterfly. The lesson had become a butterfly massacre.

The habitat was knocked over, and the bedroom was covered with shredded butterflies. Most were dead. A couple quivered their torn, spotted wings. Not a single one was unscathed.

We gathered up the survivors and took them outside to the garden. And the lesson of Mother Nature came to an end.