"Look! I'm a Beautiful Butterfly!"

It has been 1 week and 1 day since the birth of my beautiful butterflies! They have been a very fun addition to my bedroom. I have loved seeing their transformation from itty-bitty tiny caterpillars into beautiful 'pink lady' butterflies! Their process and transformation has given me the opportunity to ponder a lot upon the life cycle and the different stages we go through in life to grow into 'beautiful butterflies.' As I have sat in front of the tank and watched them or have taken them out and held them in my hands I think back to the time when I first began to really spread my wings and fly - a time when I was at my greatest height in being the real and true me and living with so much life in me - the time when I became a 'beautiful butterfly.'

I began with five itty-bitty caterpillars, but only two have survived. Ironic. The caterpillar that was the first to wrap herself in the cocoon and hang from the top of the cup was the first to go. She didn't securing fasten herself to the top and ended up falling and due to the moisture that was on the bottom of the cup her cocoon became wet and soft, instead of a hard and protective cocoon. The next three successfully attached themselves to the top of the cup securly. The fourth didn't quite make it to the top of the cup, but secured herself to the side of the cup. By doing this I had to pull her off the side of the cup and place her on the floor of the tank. There still was a possibility that she would emerge and become a beautiful butterfly like the rest.

The three caterpillars that had attached themselves to the cloth at the top of the cup all emerged beautifully one right after the other, just hours apart. Although, I think one of them had trouble getting one of her wings completely out of the cocoon. She ended up with a bent wing which disabled her to fly. Only after one week of life, she too has gone the way of the earth.

The caterpillar that attached herself to the side of the cup and ended up being layed on a tupperware lid on the bottom of the tank also had problems emerging from her cocoon. She was only able to make it out halfway. Upon discovering her it was too late for me to help. For some reason I left her in the tank. A few days later I went to take her out and discovered there was still life in her! I pulled her out of the tank and began butterfly surgery to try to get the rest of the cocoon off. I was successful but my hopes of her surviving were shattered when I found she too had gone the way of the earth the following day.

That has left me with two strong beautiful butterflies, as you will see in the pictures below. I have named them Lewi & Gilly. I have let them fly around my room on occassion. They both love to hang out by the window next to my bed and look out at the vast world in front of them. I think they both love the adventures the world has to offer them!

The three caterpillars that successfully attached themselves to the top cloth of the cup. I removed the cloth and taped it to the side of the tank and awaited for their birth.

Here is the first beautiful butterfly to emerge from her cocoon! She sat in this position for some time until blood had circulated into her wings allowing her to begin flying.

Again, the first beautiful butterfly to emerge from her cocoon.

This is her on one of the plants inside the tank. She was just getting used to her surroundings and trying out her new wings!

Here lies the first two beautiful butterflies that went the way of the earth. The cocoon at the top was the first caterpillar to go into her cocoon, but fell shortly thereafter. The bottom butterfly is the one that only made it out of her cocoon halfway.

Here is Lewi & Gilly! They love chillin' on the plants inside the tank. Kind of like a love to climb trees....

Say 'hello' to Lewi! Isn't she beautiful!?!

And here is Gilly! Hey there little one!

Another great shot of gorgeous-beautiful-stunning Lewi!

This is Gilly - she was a little bit more fiesty in letting me get a picture of her, but I was able to quickly get this nice shot.

Another great shot of Lewi! She is very photogenic for she embodies beauty. I happened to capture the picture of Christ in the background on accident which I think is very fitting.