If you know me, you know my love for nature. My hope is to pass this along to our girls as well. God’s creation is so special! Our oldest has had a huge fascination with all things nature since she first learned to walk and pick up sticks in our back yard.

Around this time every year, Giant Swallowtail Butterflies lay eggs on our lemon tree. This particular butterfly’s host plant is a citrus tree. Soon enough, the bird poop-looking caterpillars start munching on the leaves while doing no real harm to the plant. It’s fun to watch them grow, and new growth of the tree always soon follows.

Right now we are keeping close watch as one of the caterpillars is forming its chrysalis right above a leftover chrysalis from another butterfly that recently emerged. Of all the branches on the plant it could pick, I found it interesting that it chose the same branch as another cat. Perhaps this is because it believes it will be just as successful as the one that came before it?

In the picture below, you can see the little silk hammock the caterpillar has woven to hang as its chrysalis forms. Isn’t God’s perfect design amazing?

We are patiently waiting to see the beautiful butterflies these caterpillars become. I would like to put a mesh laundry hamper over the tree so we can catch a glimpse of the butterfly when it is born. I will be sure to post an update!