Monarch butterflies

This week we took a trip with our play group to Santa Cruz to see the Monarch butterflies at Natural Bridges State Park. It was amazing to see them hanging off the trees, and fluttering around in the sunshine, and unfortunately I think that most of it was lost to the kids. A few more years and they may appreciate it. Still I greatly enjoyed it, and plan to take a trip to Ardenwood soon to see the butterflies there.

It was difficult to get a decent photo of the butterflies on the trees of flying, but we were lucky to observe a newly "born" butterfly in the milkweed garden, still freshly out of the cocoon and unable to fly. It reminded me of an email forward that has circulated in the past which is also very relevant to the children in our lives and having to know when to let them struggle through things themselves!

The story is told about a man who once found a cocoon. It seems a small opening had just appeared in the cocoon and through this small opening the man watched as the young butterfly struggled to escape the confines of the container that had protected it during its metamorphosis.

After several hours it appeared the butterfly’s progress had stopped completely, prompting the man to take action. He very carefully took the cocoon in hand and used his fingers to pry it apart at the opening begun by the butterfly.

When the butterfly emerged the man noted its strange appearance. Instead of a beautiful butterfly he saw a swollen body and shriveled wings. He watched to see if it would continue to develop into the graceful beauty that adorns gardens but nothing changed. The butterfly just sat there unable to fly.

The man then began to realize that the butterfly would never fly. For it is through the struggle to escape the cocoon that the butterfly completes their transformation as the effort to break through causes the bodily fluid to flow to the new wings and gives them the strength they need for flight.