Letting Them Go: A Monarch Story

For weeks, we cared for a small group of monarch caterpillars. We kept them supplied with fresh milkweed and marveled at how much they ate. Then, one by one, they formed chrysalises of pale jade green, each edged with a thin line of gold. We waited. Days later, the chrysalises turned clear, and the butterflies emerged with wings still damp and folded. When they were ready, we opened our hands and let them go. They paused a moment, then lifted into the air.