Sassafras and I laughed as we ran through the green grass in our yard. The sun shone down on our faces, and the caterflies flitted happily through the warm spring air while we played another game of tag. The caterflies were really fast so it wasn’t a fair game (they always won), but we enjoyed it anyway.
I flopped on the ground to catch my breath, and Sassafras jumped on my stomach. A pile of giggling caterflies soon joined him. I closed my eyes and smiled as the sun warmed my face, when Sassafras let out a meow.
“What is it, buddy?” I asked, ruffling his fur. I peeked with one eye and saw my mom coming over. She had a bucket and her gardening clothes on.
I propped myself up on my elbows.
“It’s time,” she said.
I knew this was coming. “Are you sure they can’t stay a little bit longer?” I whined.
“We need to replant the catnip plants. They’re getting too big for their pots. Plus, the caterfly eggs are due to hatch any day now. You don’t want the caterpillars growing up inside a greenhouse, do you? Not when they could grow up seeing this beautiful sky every day?” Mom lifted her arms out, tilted her head back, and smiled with eyes closed toward the sun.
She had a point. It was beautiful out here.
“You can still visit them, you know,” she added.
I sighed and hauled myself up. The caterflies fluttered around my head. “It’s time! It’s time!” they chirped. They were so excited. I tried my best to be happy for them as I followed my mom back to the greenhouse.
After we filled the wagon with supplies, I ran into the house and grabbed my backpack with my camera and science journal. I couldn’t keep the caterflies, but I could at least take a photo of them.
I led the way to the catnip field, and Sassafras trotted behind, carrying a load of happy caterflies on his fur. Poor Sassafras would be lonely without those caterfly cuddles!
“You dig up the dead plants and a good bit of the soil around them as well,” Mom instructed. “All the thawing snow and rain we had a few weeks ago helped flush out most of the salt, but it’s best to be safe. I’ll add some fresh soil around each of the new catnip plants.” Mom nodded her head toward the huge bag of potting soil we’d hauled in the wagon.
We worked and worked, and finally I patted the soil around the last baby catnip plant and sat down to admire our work.
“Don’t you think Sassafras is doing a good job not drooling on the catnip?” I asked. I looked around for Sassafras. “Wait. Where is Sassafras?”
Mom and I scanned the area and found Sassafras sitting completely still in front of a new plant.
“What is he doing?” I asked. As I got closer to investigate, I saw that he was cross-eyed. Staring at his nose.
I almost fell over laughing. Smack in the middle of Sassafras’ nose was a tiny purring caterpillar. It was kneading his nose with its tiny caterpillar legs.
“They hatched!” I exclaimed to my mom. She rushed over and laughed when she saw poor Sassafras frozen in place.
“Wait!” I exclaimed, and Mom stopped in her tracks. I rummaged through my backpack. Ta-da! My camera. This would be the perfect photo! I had to hold my breath so the camera would stop shaking from my giggles. I took the photo and then coaxed the baby caterpillar onto my finger.
Sassafras let out a sigh of relief once his nose was caterpillar-free.
“He’s so tiny!” I cooed. I rubbed his furry back and he purred. “Oh my gosh! He’s soooo cute!”
I let Mom have a turn holding him, and after we set him on a catnip leaf, we watched in awe as he gobbled one leaf, then another, and another.
“Wow. They really eat a lot, don’t they?” I asked Mom.
“Yep! It’s a good thing we had the greenhouse to get the new catnip plants growing quickly.”
“How can he fit so much food in that tiny little body?” I muttered as I squinted down at him.
“Ah, he can’t. So he’ll shed his skin several times, and each time, he’ll get remarkably bigger. Just like a regular caterpillar.”
“And like mayfly nymphs?” I asked. My mind wandered back to the merhorses we helped last summer. We needed to visit them now that the weather was warming up!
“Yes, just like the mayfly nymphs.”
I shivered. “I’m glad I just grow. Shedding my skin to get bigger would be super gross.”
Mom laughed. “Well, then it’s a good thing you aren’t an insect! Once they’re big enough, the caterpillars will form chrysalises and their body parts will reorganize inside to form caterflies.”
I made a face. Reorganizing body parts? Ew.
“All that talk about shedding skin and whatnot has probably made you hungry.” Mom winked at me mischievously. “Let’s get cleaned up for dinner.”
We said a quick good-bye to the caterflies, who fluttered around the baby caterpillars to make sure they were safe and well-fed. Sassafras looked longingly back at the caterflies, and the catnip, and then joined us on the path toward home.
