Monarch butterflies symbolise rebirth and a new life. They bring change, transformation and new opportunities.
I started with two swan plants. In no time at all, the monarch butterflies came to lay their eggs. The wasps soon followed. This is very annoying because you can’t spray wasps when they’re near the swan plants.
Unfortunately, as time went by, we found ourselves with one solitary monarch caterpillar. We named the caterpillar Chomper. Martin took a short video of Chomper. I couldn’t believe how fast a monarch caterpillar can eat. It was mesmerising to watch.
I had positioned the swan plants next to a large money tree. One morning, I discovered that Chomper had moved into the money tree, and chosen to glue its bum to a leaf facing east. Chomper just hung there, meditating upside-down for around three days.
Presumably, the next stage happened overnight. Chomper seemed to have been replaced by what looked like a lime flavoured jelly bean with gold eyes at the bottom. While this sounds exciting, it isn’t. I missed seeing Chomper frolicking around in the foliage, and I was annoyed to have missed the latest antic.
Every day for the last 15 days, I have been outside to check on Chomper. Nothing much happened, until today. Literally, this morning, on the day I’m writing my column, Chomper turned a dark, reddish colour. When I saw this, I dashed inside to do some research and after reading the words ‘don’t take your eyes off it’, ‘things happen very fast’, I dashed back outside and sat there with my camera ready. At one point I was talking to Chomper like a deranged midwife. “Push, push, you can do it.” Well, as you can tell by my photos, Chomper made a brilliant comeback! What a stunning looking monarch butterfly he is. Yes, it’s a boy. You can tell by the back dots on the hind wings.
Two weeks ago, Martin came home with an enormous swan plant. We now have five very large monarch caterpillars that are about to start their very own meditation commune. If I can find strong enough glue, I might just join them. (HEIDI PADAIN)
To see some of Heidi’s other photographic work, go to www.flickr.com and type Heidi Padain into the search box, or, you can contact Heidi by email hidihi@xtra.co.nz, or look her up on Facebook - Heidi Padain Photography.