Butterflies in my…

 …Backyard! Yes, the caterpillars were all over my favorite  Agathi plant, it was quite disheartening to see it being infested! Wait! Infested? Poor caterpillars were there to just be, for a few days of their life cycle. So I decided to not kill them by feeding them to the birds nesting on my terrace garden.

I was inspired by Vani Murthy, she carefully picked the Mormon caterpillars and put them in a container with some curry leaves. This way she was sharing the curry leaves with the butterflies while saving her curry leaf plant, because these caterpillars are quite some magicians! They can make a small plant disappear within days! 

I had no idea what my caterpillars will become. What if they turned into moths? I tried feeding them hibiscus and mulberry leaves, but these voracious eaters only wanted the leaves from the Agathi. 

I thought something was wrong with some  caterpillars. It’s stomach began to bulge, and I was afraid it would burst, I was expecting it to get into a cocoon then realised it was making its pupa or chrysalis not spinning silk! 

After a few days I saw two butterflies ready to take flight in the container and took them out and released them to the neighbor’s empty plot. The butterflies  took off without any delay. It was the common yellow grass butterfly.