Polydamas swallowtail caterpillar - Photo via Flickr courtesy of ecocentrikGuy under Creative Commons license

I just witnessed the most amazing thing. Over a period of less than five minutes, my family watched as a polydamas butterfly caterpillar  transitioned to it’s pupa form, also known as a chrysalis. The most astounding thing, to me, was how quickly it happened. A gardener friend of mine clued me in to their secret: the caterpillar doesn’t wrap himself up in the chrysalis, contrary to what popular children’s books say; they shed their skin revealing the chrysalis underneath! How cool is that?

The magic of scientific fact and the miracles of the natural world are so much more impressive than anything that modern mythology (read: religion) can come up with. I am in awe of the capabilities of the humblest of little larvae. I don’t need to invoke the supernatural to appreciate the astounding world around me.

This is a spicebush swallowtail caterpillar; slightly different from the pipeweed version I watched. -Photo via Flickr courtesy of poppy2323 *away* under Creative Commons license

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