Butterfly Raising

So, one Saturday in late July we found an exciting looking caterpillar hanging out in our parsley. At first, I was inclined to let the girls look at it, then put it back from whence it came. But then I remembered how my childhood best friend had raised a monarch butterfly, and how exiting it was as a child to witness it's emergence into the world, post-transformation. I brought it in...

Online, I discovered we had ourselves a Black Swallowtail caterpillar, and that they eat fennel, parsley and dill, all of which we have in abundance in our garden. So I harvested a little of each, and placed it at the bottom of a large glass jar (our cookie jar, so no cookies that week!) with a cheese cloth covering held in place by an elastic band. I also added a stick, for when it decided to cocoon.

I read that I had to clean out the poop daily, and I wasn't really looking forward to this, as the caterpillar was already pooping copious amounts... Fortunately, this was because it was time for it to cocoon! I guess they have to clean out first? Anyhow, not long after the copious pooping, the caterpillar crawled away from its food source and began the strange cocooning dance they do. It was evening by this point, so we watched for a bit, then went to bed.

The next morning, the cocoon was complete. And the waiting began...

I have to say that by the following Saturday, I was starting to get a little stressed, as the butterfly had not yet emerged, and it looked like the cocoon was darkening. Was it dead? Was I a butterfly murderess? What would I tell the girls? Mommy messed with nature and ended up killing it?

The next day, we got up and began preparing for church. As I got the girls their breakfast, I glanced up at the glass jar. When I saw black, I panicked for a second, thinking the cocoon had darkened completely and all was lost. But no: it was the newly emerged butterfly, crawling out from its "tomb" to greet the world on Sunday morning...