Walking
over to the shop the other day I looked down in the street and there
was a green snake near the edge.
not
this snake but one like it
The
next day, walking over to the shop I stopped to check on it's
lifeless body and the ants were already at work. They had stripped
the head and tail of flesh, exposed some ribs, a section of spine,
beautiful
green scales
and were building a nest around the body.
Ants
are pretty amazing. I had killed a big grasshopper in my garden once
and it was only a minute or so before an ant discovered it and
scurried off. A few minutes later, it was back followed by a
constant stream of it's fellows. It took about 15 or 20 minutes for
them to completely dismember the carcass and haul it off.
Monarch
caterpillars do not always choose the best place to attach themselves
to make their chrysalis. They need to pick a spot that is clear of
obstruction underneath for about 3 or more inches. When the
butterfly emerges it hangs onto the empty chrysalis and drops and
expands it's newly acquired wet wings. If there is any obstruction
below when the wings expand and dry, the wing will be deformed and a
monarch can't fly with deformed wings. I came across one such
unlucky monarch fluttering on the ground and picked it up. It made
the attempt to fly but the necessary aerodynamics weren't there. It
didn't fly so much as engage in a controlled fall. A butterfly who
can't fly, can't eat, can't migrate; a mortal condition. I picked it
up again and placed it on the ever blooming penta and it ate. I saw
it again later and once again picked it up and put it on the penta
and have not seen it since.
hard
to see the deformity in the pictures, the wingtips are curved down
and under and one is torn
you
can tell it is newly emerged by its intense colors
Oh, Ellen! This is such a beautiful post in some way. The very mortality of everything born to life. The cycle of it, from birth, to death, to returning to the earth.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think that pretty snake was injured?
It's a mystery. my guess is it was run over by a bicycle but I only say that because the injured section of its body was about as wide as a fat bicycle tire. I think if it had been a cat or other animal, the woulds would have been much greater.
DeleteLife is a struggle for everything, isn't it? Sad about the butterfly but it's very pretty in the pictures. And sad about the snake, too! I was thinking a cat got it, but your bicycle theory definitely sounds plausible.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's good for us that we can make a hierarchy of things, and still feel sorrow down the line for suffering and death. Well, most of us. I realized I cannot make that an inclusive statement.
ReplyDeleteOur Monarchs are gone and I saw so many that I have hope. Lots of Painted Ladies on the remaining zinnias.
ReplyDeleteGreat nature shots. There's no such thing as "fairness" in nature.
ReplyDeleteLife comes and goes so quickly.
ReplyDeletehopefully the butterfly can recover. I have seen a few with smaller wings flying. I think those green snakes are more of a tree snake, so out of its realm.
ReplyDeleteI've only ever seen them on the ground.
Deletethe circle of life ....
ReplyDeleteI am envious. This summer, we could count the number of butterflies in two hands, which was an improvement to last summer where we had zilch.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering today if you've been seeing monarchs. They have been just thick here. I watch them while I'm at work, and after last week I started counting. Yesterday, I counted at least sixty five of them -- all going south, except for one, which was headed due north. There's always one!
ReplyDelete