I've got worms
No, not that kind of worms. (What kind of person do you think I am?!? :-p) And, no, I'm not going into the pet shop business with the guys from Dumb & Dumber. LOL But I do have a container of worms...or rather, caterpillars...in my kitchen as we speak.
I am "raising" two Monarch butterfly caterpillars. A neighbor brought some over last week & explained how her son's first grade class had collected some the year before, fed them, & watched them develop into butterflies, so I thought I'd give it a try. At first, I admit, I thought they were a little icky. I don't like things that creep & crawl, & these two were so small, they really looked more like black-striped maggots. (Sorry, I calls 'em like I sees 'em.) But then they started to grow. They seem to be nearly doubling in size on a daily basis. All they do is eat, & I have to keep replenishing the milkweed leaves they live on.
But now...I think I love them. I check on them all the time...usually find them substantially larger than the last time I looked...& love to watch them eat. They eat their leaves just like we eat corn on the cob. Bite, bite, bite, bite, bite. Back to the beginning. Bite, bite, bite, bite, bite. So cute! I've even named them: Dudley & The Other One. "Dudley" because I'm reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix right now, & the larger of the two reminds me of Harry's cousin, Dudley. Pudgy & always eating. "The Other One" because I can't think of anything else to call him. My mother suggested "Moore" or "Do-Right," but I think I should stick with the Harry Potter theme & name him Hermione or Voldemort. Or how about He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named? That's kind of a big name for such a tiny creature, tho.
This whole process is supposed to take only a couple of weeks, but I feel like I've already been doing this for quite some time. I think perhaps I'm feeding them too well. I think they've decided, "Hey, the food's good here. Screw turning into a butterfly & flying to Mexico, I'm going to stay a caterpillar forever." :-D
I'll let you know how they progress & if they ever do turn into butterflies. Then--sniff--I'll have to kiss my babies goodbye & send them out into the big, bad world all by themselves. :-(
