Monarch Caterpillars in Lizzie's Garden

Little Lizzie Listerhorn didn't think she was an odd, or unusual girl. Lizzie thought she was rather marvelous and unordinary. She didn't care about ballet lessons, social media, or cell phones. Lizzie didn't like the color pink either. She had two passions; one was butterflies, and the other was her garden.

Lizzie had her own particular garden in her back yard, and it was filled with beautiful flowers that attracted butterflies. She planted coneflowers, corn poppies, lupines, zinnias, and butterfly bushes. 

Lizzie and her mother visited the local book store, and she purchased a book about monarch butterflies. Lizzie quickly read it front to back.

"Mom, I need to order some milkweed seeds," she told her mother.

"Why do you need milkweed seeds. Aren't they a weed?" Lizzie's mother asked, puzzled. "How would those fit into your butterfly garden?"

Lizzie smiled, "Mom, I read that the monarch butterflies only lay their eggs on milkweed plants. The eggs hatch and the caterpillars eat the milkweed, which is poisonous to other insects."

Lizzie's Mom looked surprised, "Well, that's interesting, Lizzie. I didn't know that about monarch butterflies."

"Yes, and the numbers of monarch butterflies are drastically falling because of logging in Mexico and construction here in the United States. I want to do anything I can to help them.

Lizzie's Mom knelt down and hugged Lizzie, "I think that's a wonderful idea, Lizzie. I'll order them online today."

Several days later, Lizzie planted the milkweed seeds in her garden. She patted the seeds down into the soil and carefully covered them. Lizzie picked up the bright yellow watering jar and added just enough water to dampen the seeds.

Lizzie was a persistent gardener. Every morning after breakfast, she ran to tend her flower garden, her small straw hat atop her red curls. She stooped down to pick weeds and add water to each flower.

The milkweed plants were growing bigger every day. They had little orange flowers, and she wondered when the monarch butterflies would come. She thought her garden was unique; she knew they would come.

One quiet summer day, Lizzie exclaimed, "Mom, I saw a monarch butterfly, and it was just leaving my garden. Do you think the butterfly laid its eggs on my milkweed?" Lizzie asked her face lit up and her green eyes sparkled.

"I suppose so, Lizzie. We'll have to wait and see," Lizzie's Mom replied.

Lizzie watched for the caterpillars every day. She turned the leaves over carefully, holding them with her small fingers and looked for them, but none could be found. Lizzie was positive; she had done everything right. The butterfly book said to plant the milkweed and flowers that attract butterflies, and they would come.

Lizzie kept pottery dishes with water in between her butterfly plants so the butterflies could drink. It was a hot August day, and Lizzie was filling them with fresh water when she stopped abruptly.

"Oh my, something is eating my milkweed plants," Lizzie said out loud, a frown on her freckled face.

She set the water jar down and walked to the milkweed plants. There were holes in the leaves. Lizzie reached out and turned one of the leaves over, and she came eye-ball to eye-ball with a big yellow, black and white caterpillar. It was rapidly munching the milkweed leaf. Lizzie walked around the plants turning leaves and found ten caterpillars. Lizzie jumped for joy and ran to tell her mother. "Mom, I have monarch caterpillars. I counted ten of them."

"That's wonderful, Lizzie. I'm happy for you," Lizzie's Mom smiled and hugged the excited little girl.

Lizzie read in the informative book that you should place netting over the plants so birds or insects won't eat the caterpillars. Lizzie carefully wrapped the netting around the milkweed plants without disturbing the caterpillars.

Each day Lizzie watered the milkweed plants she lifted leaves and counted all ten caterpillars. She watched them munching away on the milkweed leaves and was surprised at how fast they ate. Soon there wouldn't be any milkweed leaves left. She hoped there was enough so they could all turn into beautiful butterflies.

The next morning, Lizzie hopped out of bed and dressed in her overalls. She grabbed her yellow watering jar and ran outside to find chrysalides on the milkweed plants. During the night, the caterpillars had finished eating the milkweed plant and made their chrysalides. It would take one to two weeks for them to emerge as monarch butterflies.

Lizzie couldn't imagine anything that moved slower than the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. She stayed patient, or as patient as a little girl could endure. Lizzie must have walked past the milkweed plants more than a hundred times a day, and still no butterflies.

Lizzie's brow furrowed, "Mom, do you think I am ever going to have butterflies?"

"Yes, I think they will come out when they are ready to be butterflies. Just think how amazing it is that a yellow, black and white striped caterpillar is going to turn into a beautiful bright orange butterfly. That takes time," Lizzie's Mom explained.

Lizzie's brow softened, and she smiled, "I guess you're right."

Lizzie's Mom knelt down and looked into Lizzie's bright eyes, "You know your baby brother is in my tummy. It takes nine months for him to be a baby. I don't think two weeks is too much time for butterflies, do you?"

"Oh no, two weeks is not that long," Lizzie laughed and hugged her Mom.

The next morning Lizzie noticed movement in one of the chrysalides. Lizzie knelt down and gently pulled the netting from around the milkweed plants, so when the butterflies came out of their chrysalides, they would be able to fly away.

Lizzie jumped with joy as each of the butterflies started emerging from their chrysalis, one by one. She watched as they moved their wings back and forth to open them up and dry them out. They stopped to drink nectar from the flowers in Lizzie's garden, and all ten monarch butterflies flew away to migrate to Mexico.

Lizzie was a happy little girl. She had been determined to help the monarch butterflies. She was not an ordinary little girl, and neither were her butterflies.