We Thought It Was Dead A large goldfish bowl sat upon our dining room table for the last four months of 2018. The contents of the bowl: four or five brown twigs from which hung three brown Swallowtail butterfly chrysalises. We’ve raised Swallowtail butterflies in our home for many years. When I say “we,” I’m really referring to my wife Lisa. She’s the backbone of the operation. In previous years, we’d had great success hatching
Swallowtails. All the butterflies usually hatched from their chrysalises in just a couple of weeks, inside the protected confines of our makeshift terrarium, and then we’d release them in our backyard, afterwards. But, in 2018, we met with seeming defeat. All three chrysalises formed in early September and by the end of September there was no change … nor was there any change by the end of October. Lisa did some research and discovered that the incubation period varies greatly in Swallowtail butterflies, so we were still hopeful that our “babies” were going to make it. But then November came and went, and still there was no change in the chrysalises. (By the way, for the longest time I thought they were called “cocoons,” but my wife set me straight. Cocoons are woven out of silk by moths, while chrysalises are formed by butterflies. There’s your science lesson for the day!) My daughter had come home for a visit during Christmas time and saw the fishbowl with the lifeless chrysalises in it, and asked if she should just put the bowl outside since it seemed obvious that they weren’t going to hatch. Even though it appeared like a hopeless situation, I said, “No, let’s keep them inside, in the bowl … there’s a possibility that they’re still alive.” I was hoping against hope that those chrysalises still had life in them.
I was hoping against hope that those chrysalises still had life in them.
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