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There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.

~ R. Buckminister Fuller, 1895 – 1983

American Architect, Writer, Designer, Inventor and Futurist.

Hmmm, does that brightly coloured caterpillar that catches your eye offer a life lesson?

I am on the lookout for caterpillars in my nature rambles now. Caterpillars for the most part emerge in either April and May or August and September. Many of the most striking ones emerge in the late summer and early autumn period.

A bit of caterpillar trivia. Caterpillars live for 4 to 8 weeks eating leaves and shedding their skin several times before entering the pupa stage. The pupa stage can last a few days to a couple of weeks for caterpillars that emerge in the Spring.

But many of the caterpillars we see now will remain in their chrysalis or cocoon, or sometimes in caterpillar form, all winter long resting in a dormant state known as diapause.

Caterpillars at this time of year delight nature nuts like myself because of their brilliant colours and striking markings. Why are they so brightly coloured? Many feed on specific toxic plants and store the poison in their bodies. Their bright colours warn predators that they are bad tasting, toxic or even poisonous.

Their bold patterns and bright red, yellow or orange colouration – like the ones displayed in this post – say to prospective predators: Don’t eat me. I will make you sick! Predators quickly learn that these flashy colours translate to an unpleasant meal.

Both butterflies and moths pass through the four stages of metamorphosis: egg, larva, caterpillar and adult. The transformation they undergo has become a common and powerful metaphor for personal and spiritual transformation. It mirrors how each of us grow, evolve and transform throughout lives to become the fully formed person we are meant to be.

As R. Buckminister points out, the caterpillar does not reveal or hint at what it will eventually become. It must trust in the transformation process it is born into and play its part.

We are more self-aware than the caterpillar. But we still have to trust in the process and work through the metamorphosis to reach our potential and achieve our destiny. The process happens quite quickly for caterpillars but can last a lifetime for us. Sometimes we metamorphize several times before we become who we are meant to be.

So by all means, admire the caterpillar for its brilliant colours. But at the same time, partake of the lesson it provides. Embrace the process of transformation however hard it may become. The destination is worth the rigours of the journey.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

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Tags:   butterflies · caterpillars · metamorphosis · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · mothsNo Comments