Yes, we have our own butterfly hatchery working. Well, I should say HAD. They devoured our entire passionflower vine. 
It was supposed to be a good green cover for our compost bin, but it is now a naked vine. They got desperate and ate even the fruit after the last green leaf was gone. Want to hear some drama? Okay, here it is. We store the katchakid net back in that corner when we aren't using it. Monday night I rolled it out over the pool and secured it into all the grommet holes before realizing -- GASP -- I had dipped tens of cucoons into the chlorinated pool. I felt horrible. I was mad; if they were going to eat my vine, I wanted to see the fat juicy caterpillars turn into beautiful butterflies. I couldn't stand the fact that I had intervened in the most crucial part of the whole deal. We needed the metamorphing part, all that chomping day in and day out could not end with a quick dip in civilization's chemical abyss!!!!!
Well, fast forward to our return. Emily said she saw many butterflies this week, hanging out over the pool. I thought she was just trying to make me feel better. Until this morning when I spied this one. Still fresh and wet.
2 comments:
Yes, we were amazed by the multiple life cycles on the vine during our last visit. It was like a great kids' science book come to life! I just wish we could've seen the freshly hatched adults, too. Awesome photos!
Nature triumphs despite human intervention...I'm glad you got to see the finished product!
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