Return of the Butteflies

One of the things I love about spring time is the return of the butterflies. As a kid I spent a couple of seasons raising Monarch butterflies. Being able to watch the whole growth process was not only educational, but fun and awe inspiring as well. I spent countless hours watching the delicate yellow eggs, which were laid on a milkweed leaf, until they hatched into voracious caterpillars that ate all day long. Then, once the caterpillar had grown, I gazed in curiosity and wonder as it changed into an exquisite light green and gold chrysalis. I could hardly wait until the chrysalis turned black and red, signaling that it would hatch soon. I never got tired of watching the butterfly emerge, fully transformed from a worm-like creature into something so beautiful.

Spring Azure - wing span about 1-1.5 in.

So far this spring, I have seen two different types of butterflies. The very first one I noticed was the Spring Azure. It was fluttering around in the woods near our creek and around our yard. As adults they like the flower nectar of the Dogbane, blackberry, New Jersey tea, and common milkweed. They lay their eggs on flower buds and the caterpillars will eat the flowers and fruit as they grow. Interestingly, these caterpillars supply ants with a sweet sugary substance known as honeydew, from their abdomens, and in return, the ants protect them from possible predators.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - wing span about 3.5-5in.

The second butterfly I noticed was the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Now at first, I thought I was seeing two different kinds because one was yellow and the other black. But, as it turns out, the black one was a female and the yellow one could be female or male, but still of the same species. The females usually have more blue on their wings. One of them was fluttering around drinking nectar from flowers on the Silverberry bush. After mating, they will lay their eggs on Yellow Poplar, Tulip tree, Black Willow, Black Cherry, Red Maple, American Elm, and Sassafras (to name a few). When the caterpillars first hatch, they look a lot like bird poop, which helps camouflage them, however, as they grow, they turn green and have bright, fake eyespots on their head. Just before they transition into their chrysalis stage, the caterpillar will turn brown.

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

The process of transformation that the butterfly goes through is called metamorphosis. Did you know that the Bible also talks about metamorphosis? In Romans 12:1, 2 it says, "I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed (the Greek says metamorphose) by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will." Just as the butterfly changes completely from a caterpillar to a beautiful flying insect, so we are to be changed by the complete transformation of our minds. And again, it says in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that when God returns, we will all be changed (go through metamorphosis) into His likeness. Definitely some things to think about.