#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream
“As wave is driven by wave
And each, pursued, pursues the wave ahead,
So time flies on and follows, flies, and follows,
Always, for ever and new. What was before
Is left behind; what never was is now;
And every passing moment is renewed.”
― Ovid, Metamorphoses
I love walking in meadows in every season; I love milkweed in every stage; I love what milkweed makes possible: monarch butterflies.
This morning, it was late, sunny and hot, when we got to one of my favorite meadows. Such a lovely September breeze shuffling the field grass, tossing the late summer blooms. Sumac was everywhere blazing, fiery red, but there was softness, too, in the tiny pinks, and firmness in the pale purple grapes. I was walking toward a stunning view of a bright yellow field of goldenrod beyond a stone wall when I spotted the unmistakable stripe of the larva on a milkweed stalk, and felt the thrill of witnessing metamorphosis.
“Monarch Life Cycle
All insects change in form as they grow; this process is called metamorphosis. Butterflies and moths undergo complete metamorphosis, in which there are four distinct stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult. It takes monarchs about a month to go through the stages from egg to adult, and it is hormones circulating within the body that trigger the changes that occur during metamorphosis.”
All photos and text copyright Kelly DuMar 2017