2019 "A Butterfly Summer"
Reiki has opened up so many new worlds, for me, by living and understanding the precepts. Recognizing that a soul is a soul, and we are all one. Every being on our planet is connected. Soul to soul, heart to heart, we are all one! I have always felt this since I was a little girl, but not deeply living it, everyday.
I have always loved animals. All kinds of animals. I love spending time with them, and have always helped in some way, but honestly never really thought about “bugs,” so much. I never really thought about the importance of butterflies as pollinators, either. Again, Reiki and age, has made me so much more aware of animals, our precious planet, our environment, climate change, plant based diet, etc.
This past Summer, I read an article about Monarch Butterflies and how they are on the brink of extinction, because of pesticide spraying, parks dept.’s mowing down the only plant they eat and lay their eggs on, Milk Weed, parasites, climate change, logging, and natural predators, to name a few. I’m smart enough to know that every being, no matter how insignificant we might feel it is, has a purpose and when one goes extinct, others will follow. It also said that we should all do our part to help and plant Milk Weed in our yards to help them out. Simple enough, right? So that is what I set out to do.
I purchased a pack of Milk Weed seeds, planted them, and thought I was done.
One sunny morning, a few weeks later, I was outside watering my vegetable garden, and I noticed a beautiful Monarch Butterfly, land on a several of my baby plants, and got excited to see that I was already helping the environment. How the heck did that beautiful butterfly, find these 4 inch high plants in my back yard? A few days later I noticed something was eating the leaves on my young plants and got upset because I was worried there would be nothing left for the butterflies to eat, not realizing the tiny little worms I found on them, eating them, were Monarch Caterpillars! Butterflies don’t eat the plants. Only their caterpillars do. I had a lot to learn! I couldn’t believe that I witnessed a visit from a Monarch and she laid eggs on my plants. Next day, I went outside to visit the caterpillars and they were all gone, Where did they go? What I did notice were wasps hanging out by the plants, so I got on my computer and “googled” What eats Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars?
The article said Wasps, Ants, and Beetles, look for holes in Milkweed plants so they can find caterpillars to eat. So my poor little guys were a meal for other bugs. I felt like a failure, and immediately began to google, “Butterfly Habitats.” My thought was, I would order one and be ready for next summer so I can protect the baby caterpillars.
A few days later, I noticed more caterpillars, the size of inch worms, munching on my plants, so I dug the plants up, potted them and brought them in my house. I quickly ordered a Butterfly habitat from the internet, and two days later it arrived. It was inexpensive, light weight, and made from a netting that has holes too small for ants, beetles, and wasps to get through. Problem solved, right?
New problem to solve. Monarch Caterpillars, eat a lot. I had 6 caterpillars, and they very quickly ate all the leaves off my young Milkweed plants, so now I was in a panic, where can I get Milkweed? I had no idea they ate that much! I put a search out on FaceBook and very quickly I had so many responses from nature loving, FaceBookers telling me where I could find some in my neighborhood, a co-worker brought some into work for me, and also a neighbor did the same. Problem solved. Let me tell you, it gets exhausting when you have to go out and hunt down Milk Weed daily, so there is always a fresh supply and enough leaves for very hungry caterpillars.
Rainy days, I carried the habitat inside, Too sunny, I would move them in the shade, and misted the plants so the caterpillars stay hydrated. My little Butterfly Sanctuary was turning into a full time job, but I was learning so much, and I loved it!
One by one, the caterpillars matured into beautiful White, Yellow, and Black banded Caterpillars. A Co-Worker also shares this interest in raising Monarchs and had one that had already entered it’s Chrysalis phase and she was going away, so she asked if I could foster her Monarch for her? Of course I said yes. So now I had 7 Monarchs to raise.
Over the next few weeks, as the caterpillars matured, each would hang in a “J” shaped hook from a leaf and a little string of silk they created, or from the top of the netted habitat, and then 24 hours after that, like a magic trick, in an instant. they would be all wrapped up in a beautiful, “jade-green,” colored, silk Chrysalis, which resembles a beautiful lantern with iridescent gold dots on it. Amazing!
Nothing to do but wait now.
Each caterpillar took between 22 and 24 days to emerge, longer that the usual 10-14 days that I read it should take, but I am thinking it’s because the weather has been cooler, especially in the evenings. You know when they will emerge because the Chrysalis goes from a beautiful jade green color, to translucent and you can see your butterfly through it. When they first emerge or eclose, they must hang upside down for a few hours until their wings grow bigger and stronger. They emit a hormone to do this. When the wings are dry and stiff, then their body grows longer and thinner due to the same hormone. This is a great time to get to know your butterfly, up close, before it can fly away.
Beautiful Hope, may your wings carry you safely on your journey! Wishing you a blessed journey
I ended up having 3 females and 4 males. Of course I named them all. Something I have done ever since I was a little girl bringing home injured wildlife and once a stray dog!. Again, understanding as a very young child, that every animal, no matter how small, was “Some one and not Some thing.” Every being under my care, got a name! In the order of their birth, my Monarchs names are Hope, Nia, Khaleesi, Thor, Hercules, Winston, and Shakespeare. I learned a lot about these fascinating little beings, from the beginning of their life cycle until the end. I carried that little habitat inside every cool evening and on rainy spells to give them their best chance to survive. I moved the habitat into the shade if it got too hot. I got very attached to these little guys that have so much going against them.
One of my boys, Winston, emerged late on a sunny afternoon and was not ready to fly until dark so I decided to keep him until morning to give him, his best chance for survival. The next two days were cold and wet, so now I worried about how I could feed him. Again, I googled “how can I feed a Monarch Butterfly.” Thank goodness for google! I learned you can make a nectar with 1 part sugar and 9 parts water. Make the water warm enough so the sugar dissolves. After mixing well, place the nectar in a bottle cap and invite your Butterfly to eat. I can’t tell you how excited I got, when my little “Winston,” sat on my finger and drank his dinner! So amazing. I think he was my favorite because I had him the longest and I think he liked me too, because before he took off, of my finger, for his first flight, he turned and looked at me as if to say thank you and good-bye!
I shared Reiki with my Butterflies and wished them each a “blessed flight,” before releasing! I will definitely be doing my part, next Spring as well. They truly are fascinating little beings!
I learned so much from them seeing through my “Reiki Eyes.” The caterpillars born in NY, will live for about 7 to 9 months, and fly all the way back to Mexico, to start this cycle again.
I can’t believe how much I learned about Monarchs this Summer. Crazy things like they taste with their feet. Caterpillars poop, a lot, but Butterflies don’t poop or pee. They fly all the way back to Mexico, with an innate “Radar Map and GPS” in their heads to make this trip. They have polarized vision so they can see where the Sun is on a cloudy day. They do recognize landmarks. They do not learn how to fly or get to Mexico by previous generations showing them the way. They digest themselves in the chrysalis before they change into a Butterfly. If you broke open a chrysalis before it is ready you would find caterpillar soup for lack of a better word. Crazy right? A Monarch’s colors warn other species that they taste bad? Did you know you can tell the difference of a male and female by their spots? Males have two black dots on the backs of their wings. Did you know they need the Sun to warm the muscles in their wings so they can fly? Butterfly wings are kind of like solar panels and it has to be at in the 50’s for them to fly. There is so much more than this too!
I recommend everyone watch “Flight of the Butterflies.” It’s a PBS documentary and free on Youtube. Very well done and fascinating! Enjoy the photos. And please, think about helping out the Monarch Butterflies. They play an important role pollinating our food supply. At the very least, please plant some milkweed in your yard, and let nature do the rest!