I met this swallowtail caterpillar while pulling weeds in garden plot at a school I am working at in Atlanta. Thankfully, he was willing to travel with me upstairs to the classroom where he met many young humans who were gentle, inquisitive, and excited to meet such a fine specimen of his species. When Forest Friday was over and he and I were packing up to leave he gave the kids one last surprise.. he pooped on me. Funny thing, people generally don’t think of insects pooping, but considering all the leaves caterpillars eat it wasn’t surprising at all for me.. after they were completely grossed out my friend the swallowtail caterpillar and I went back to the garden where I found him and there I left him to hopefully eat some more, poop some more, and one day soon become a beautiful butterfly.
Swallowtail
What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls the butterfly.
~ Richard Bach
Black Swallowtail
This body is not me.
I am not limited by this body.
I am life without boundaries.
I have never never been born,
And I have never died.
~ Thich Nhat Hahn
Swallowtail
The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.
~ Rabindranath Tragore
