Meandering Thoughts

Painted Lady Butterfly vs American Lady Butterfly

2010-12-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

Which butterfly is pictured in these photos?

These two butterflies confuse many of us. They are two totally different butterflies that are in the same genus of classification. The first photo is of the American Lady, Vanessa cardui. The second photo is of the American Painted Lady, Vanessa virginiensis.

Many people who raise Painted Lady butterflies will identify an American Lady incorrectly. They resemble but are not the same at all. The caterpillars look very different from each other.

The first photograph is of a Painted Lady caterpillar. The second photograph is of an American Lady caterpillar.

Although the caterpillars cannot be confused easily, the adult butterflies are easily confused. What looks like a Painted Lady butterfly may actually be an American Lady butterfly and vice versa.

In the same way we confuse butterflies, it is easy to confuse the heart and intent of people.

Jesus had people misunderstanding the intent of his heart. I have tried to learn from the things Jesus said and did. Sometimes he defended himself while other times he was silent. It's hard to know when to speak and when to be silent.

Jesus faced what would be (for most of us) a very heart-breaking situation. His very friends said that he was deranged and came to take him by force. (Mark 3)

In some situations we are often only presented with part of what we should know. Someone may give twisted or incomplete facts about another person. This can cause a person to look like he/she is not the person he/she really is inside. Other times people will intentionally tell absolute untruths about another person.

When I am friends with two people who are in disagreement, I find it heartbreaking. It is especially difficult when I realize that one of them is deliberately trying to make the other person to appear to be of evil intent. But who do I believe when it is not a situation where facts are provable?

The hard part is for those who are friends of both parties - who do they believe?

No matter how many people call an American Lady a Painted Lady, it does not make it a Painted Lady. It remains an American Lady.

No matter what is said about anyone that is untrue, it does not change the truth about that person. This is a lesson that I learned from these two butterflies.

When I am the person being misrepresented, it is easier to handle when I realize that nothing anyone can say changes what I am. As Popeye says, "I yam what I yam and that's what I yam".

Through this I've learned to pray for those who speak against me. This is taught in at least two places in the New Testament. What peace it brings!

I have also been the one caught 'in between' in friendships and business relationships. I have believed the wrong things about others many times, because I blindly believed to what others have said. I understand why it is easy to believe the wrong things about people. I thank God that He has forgiven me for the times I've misjudged others.

Matthew 18:15-17

And if thy brother sin against thee, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established. And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church:

Mark 3:21

And when those who belonged to Him (His kinsmen) heard it, they went out to take Him by force, for they kept saying, He is out of His mind (beside Himself, deranged)!

Matthew 5:44

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Luke 6:28

Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

I thank God for those who have worked to bring peace as much as possible in difficult situations.

Protective Cocoon

2010-12-14T12:31:00.000-08:00

Moth Cocoon - Opened and Pupa Removed

How cool can that be? A moth cocoon can be carefully cut open and the moth pupa removed without harming it. Although it is commonly thought that the pupa must stay inside the cocoon for the moth to emerge and be healthy, it simply isn’t true.

Removing the pupa renders the value of the cocoon to nearly nothing, as far as the value of the silk itself. From the moth's point, it seems to simply be a protective 'home' for the pupa. On rare occasions, a moth caterpillar will create a cocoon and pupate outside of it. Other times one will fail to make a cocoon. Normally, the caterpillar makes the cocoon and pupates inside it.

There are poems and prose that state that if a cocoon is opened the adult moth will be unhealthy or won't live. So what do we believe? It's hard to know what truth is and what isn't in this world. Research may turn up many pages on the internet that support that erroneous claim.

We've removed many pupae from cocoons. A cocoon is simply something like a sleeping bag. In nature, though, these pupae would be vulnerable outside its cocoon. Predators and parasitoids would have better access to it.

In nature, moth caterpillars that pupate outside the cocoon would have less chance of survival. They are outside the protection of the cocoon.

It makes me wonder - what is my cocoon? Where is my safety? Am I making choices that place me outside my cocoon of safety?

A bible study quickly reveals the source of our protection and our safety. First, God himself. Second, good counselors.

Proverbs 18:10

The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

Proverbs 21:31

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.

Proverbs 24:6

For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Proverbs 29:25

The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

Less than the best?

2010-12-14T12:28:00.000-08:00

White Peacock butterflies are beautiful. Rather small, flitting close to the ground, they stay near damp areas where their host plants grow. Caterpillars of this species eat several plants; water hyssop, frog fruit, plantain, and green shrimp are a few of their host plants.

While growing water hyssop for these butterflies, we often propagate new plants for the females to lay eggs upon. The plants are started in four inch pots in the greenhouse. As soon as they grow roots, they're fertilized. Well, most are fertilized! Every now and then one of the pots are skipped when we add fertilizer to the pots.

Both of these plants were started the same day. It's easy to see which plant was fertilized and which wasn't fertilized. Without proper nutrients, they sure will not grow as well or as healthy. If someone didn't know what a healthy water hyssop plant looks like, they may not realized that one is malnourished. Yet next to a healthy plant, anyone can see which onet hasn't had the proper nutrients and stands out like a sore thumb.

Things like this remind us how important proper nutrients are for life. Customers and caterpillars both should have the plant on the left, not the plant on the right. Yet both customers and caterpillars would rather have the plant on the right rather than no plant at all! We all tend to settle for less than perfect when we don't see or cannot obtain what is perfect.

It makes me stop and wonder; where am I settling for 'less than the best'?

Butterfly Praise

2010-11-21T13:35:00.000-08:00

Butterflies are fantastic; beautiful, graceful, and captivating.

We are surrounded by butterflies during the spring, summer, and fall. They change from a caterpillar to a chrysalis and emerge with wings, flying high out of our reach. They visit our gardens, landing on plants just a few feet away, and drink nectar from flowers. We can't help but stop to give God the glory for these beautiful creatures.

Just like when I'm with butterflies, I find that after I've been talking to certain people in my life, I find myself often thanking and/or praising God because of them.
Watching butterflies causes me to praise God. Thinking of others often causes me to praise God. I have to ask myself if I live my life in a manner to cause others to praise God because of me. Does anyone ever leave my presence giving praise to God because of what I am?

• Have I made someone’s life easier today?

• Have I helped someone who is going through a difficult time?

• Have I been a blessing to someone?

I should start my day by asking God to make me a blessing to someone else and for my life to bring praise to him.

Galatians 1:24

"And they praised God because of me."

Hidden Beauty

2010-11-16T17:59:00.000-08:00

Hidden beauty is all around us. Things that we consider drab are quite often actually stunningly beautiful. We just don't look at the whole picture.

The Great Leopard Moth is one example. When this moth is sitting still, it's a simple white and black moth.

But when the wings are moved to the side, bright sunlight reveals an iridescent metallic blue on the topside of its abdomen. This blue is rarely visible. The brilliant blue stays hidden under the wings.

Another moth with hidden surprises is the Io moth. When resting during the day or at night, it's a rust or yellow colored moth, depending upon whether it is a male or female.

When the upper wings are moved to the side, its large eye spots are visible.

The rust colored moth is a female. The yellow moth is a male.

The male Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly is a drab dark black butterfly until it is seen in bright light. The light refraction reveals a bright metallic blue color that is absolutely beautiful.

This hidden beauty makes me wonder about other people. Am I missing some of the ‘beauties’ of life by looking only from one angle or only in certain lights? Some people show their real beauty when times get rough. Some show their beauty when someone is in need. At unexpected times, people show their beauty in different and unexpected ways.

There are those who value outward beauty and later find that inward beauty is more important. Most of us fall into this group of people. We learn about real beauty when we are purchasing a sofa (beautiful but uncomfortable), a house (gorgeous but drafty and with bugs), or meeting a person (beautiful/handsome but has a nasty nature).

So what is beauty?

The greatest beauty in this world is Jesus. But in person, he was not beautiful. Man's renderings in ink, charcoal, paint, and every other media illustrates Jesus as a fairly to very good-looking man. Yet according to Isaiah 52:2 he was not a good-looking man. "... there is no beauty that we should desire him".

The real beauty of Jesus was not that of facial features of physical form. His real beauty was his love for his Father and for us; mankind. Real beauty is God's love.

It's the manifestation of God's love in people that is valued the most in difficult times. When things are going good, we may want to be around the things that are more visibly beautiful. But when rough times hit, we want the true beauty of the actions of love in our lives.

What actions?

bringing a meal when we're unable to cook
paying our bills when we're unable to work
holding our hands when they're empty because a loved one was taken from us
praying for us when we're in need
spending time with us when we're lonely
picking up our prescriptions when we're unable to drive
caring for our loved ones when we are unable to do so
sometimes it is simply holding a door open for us with a smile and a 'good morning'
(the list is as endless as the needs of mankind)

After appreciating the beauty of God's love, we should first focus on obtaining the true inward beauty of that love within ourselves. Second, we should focus on appreciating the other real beauty around us, the beauty inside our fellow man.

Isaiah 52:2

... there is no beauty that we should desire him.

I Love Butterflies?

2010-10-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

Beautiful butterflies, flying here and there, drinking nectar from this flower and that flower .....

...... or are they? These little brown critters can't be butterflies. After all ....

..... we all know that butterflies are bright and colorful! Of course .....

.... these little brown critters can't be butterflies.

We all have been taught dissimilar things and have different preconceived notions; from food to eat to how to behave in public to what a butterfly is. Very few people would realize that all of the above photos are of butterflies. As humans, we tend to place value on bright colorful butterflies and dismiss dark, dull, and small butterflies.

Look at the photos below. We normally give more attention and value to bright colorful daytime butterflies and ignore the huge beautiful night-time moths like these. Yes, all photos below are of moths.

We tend to ‘love’ only certain butterflies and moths and not other butterflies and moths. We ‘love’ many creatures in varying degrees depending entirely on the way they look or act.

If a little tattered brown Duskywing butterfly could become a large majestic Monarch butterfly, most humans would 'love' it more.

What if God loved like we do, his love depending upon how we look or act? I'm so glad that God already loves us totally, fully, and completely.
We can't do anything to cause God to love us more.

He loved us so much that he planned for a way for us (mankind) to be reunited with him. He loved us that much BEFORE we accepted him. Love can't be greater than that. He can't love us more if we're bright and beautiful, with fewer tatters. He wouldn’t love us more if we spend more time in prayer and studying his word, drawing closer to him and loving him more. He won't love us more if we help others more. He won't love us more if we love others more. He may approve of our actions more but not love us more.

We can love him more but he can't love us more. He always has loved us to the very maximum that anyone or anything can be loved.

We can put ourselves in a position where WE can love God more. WE can learn from God more. We can be closer to God. But God has already loved us and does love us to the extreme.

Romans 5:8

"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."

Monarch Cremaster SEM

2010-08-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

Every year, millions of Monarch caterpillars change into chrysalises. During this change, the caterpillar literally sheds its skin and becomes a chrysalis. As it slips out of its skin, it must let go with its legs and hold on with its cremaster, the black stem at the top of the chrysalis.

The two lowest black dots of a Monarch chrysalis are called 'holdfast tubercles'. A pupating caterpillar/chrysalis is literally suspended by two tiny holdfast tubercles for a moment as it withdraws its cremaster from underneath its old skin and grasps its silk button with the tip of its cremaster. Long ago scientists discovered that the tip of the cremaster is covered with tiny hooks. These hooks become tangles with the loops of the silk pad it had made before pupating.

This step is critical. If the cremaster doesn't grasp the silk button and falls onto most surfaces, it ruptures. The chrysalis breaks open upon impact with the surface below it. We still often hold our breath as we watch this critical moment during pupation ... STRESS ... will it make the reach? Will someone bump the table? Will wind blow at the wrong time? Will an animal pass by and knock it off the stem before it finishes?

We were given Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of the tip of a Monarch cremaster, along with permission to use the images. This is an image of a Monarch cremaster with its hooks locked into the loops of its silk button. No wonder it holds so well!

The cremaster's hooks and silk pad's loops are much like Velcro®. Unlike Velcro®, the hooks and loops make a connection so tight that if one simply pulls at the chrysalis, the chrysalis will break before the hooks pull loose from the silk pad. This protects the cremaster from being blown loose in storms.

It is good to be reminded again that God was there first. He created everything. How wonderful it is to rest in the knowledge that such a God is still here, handling things from year to year, month to month, week to week, day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute, and even second to second. What a stress relief!

Genesis 1: 20-25

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Total commitment to the eyeballs and beyond!

2010-07-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

White Peacock

This White Peacock is really getting into its food. The nectar that it needs is at the base of this flower. The flower has a long tube throat and the butterfly's proboscis must reach the base of the flower to drink nectar.

This photograph shows the proboscis as it's curling up after it has finished drinking from that flower. It's a long tube that curls into a very tight curl when it's not drinking.

A Cloudless Sulphur is really entering into its meal in this photo and the one below.

As was this Palamedes above and this Spicebush below.

That's a total commitment! Getting this deep into a flower blinds the butterfly to what is going on around it. That's total commitment. It's not all the time that the butterfly is this deep into its food. It's just a bit here and there. Sometimes it doesn't need to dig so deep. Sometimes it does. In the photo below, we see a Cloudless Sulphur that didn't need to dig deep into the flower at all to obtain nectar.

So what about me? How committed am I? Am I digging deep enough? The answer is a resounding NO, not always. My spiritual food is available through many 'flowers', from friends, messages, prayer, quiet time, and the Bible.

Without taking time to totally commit myself, I will not gain the amount of 'nectar' I need to sustain my spiritual life as I should. There is a point where one can spend too much time in spiritual issues and fail at living the life God meant one to live, interacting with others, earning a living, and enjoying life. I'm not at that point, I'm falling short of spending enough time seeking 'nectar'. There is a point where one knows he/she should commit more.

Like the butterfly, I need to dig deeper into reaching the true nectar to give myself spiritual food to grow in the spirit.

Serves Him Right!

2010-07-06T16:56:00.000-07:00

Veronica bugs kill butterflies. This one has killed a Duskywing butterfly. I do not like Veronica bugs. End of story.

Then sometimes it's so good to see some of the sights I find as I wander with a camera. Especially when I wander and find a spider eating a veronica bug. Grin. Gloat. Chuckle.

It's so satisfying to see 'justice'. But it shouldn't be.

Especially when it comes to my fellow man, including those who have declared me their enemy.

I know that if I am filled with the Holy Spirit and let him direct me, crowing when disaster befalls other humans wouldn't be as bad as it is when I don't allow him to take over. I tend to learn the hard way.

Misjudging is the cause of not thinking or seeing the real situation - or someones upbringing - or battles they deal with - or many other things. Misjudging can be, to a certain extent, understandable from a human standpoint.

Crowing or grinning when disaster or negative things happen to someone (who has declared me to be an enemy) isn't understandable except as the carnal bad nature of myself. It's just plain ole bad - all the way around.

The tendency to do so is also as old as the hills, almost. Solomon wrote about it in Proverbs (below).

After reading what Solomon wrote, the bad side of me says that if I learn not to rejoice when my enemy falls, God will take care of my enemy better than I can which would be much more satisfying. But that in itself is again the bad nature of hoping for something worse than what has already happened to someone. Human nature is pretty nasty. At least my human nature is.

Here's hopes and prayers that I'll always pray for my enemies with a pure heart, the love of God, praying that my 'enemy' will draw close to God and that I will draw closer to God too.

Wouldn't it be great if we all changed to the point that we'd all be close to God and find out that it doesn't take work to love one another, that it could be simply natural. That's the reality of heaven - it won't be hard, won't be work, it will be simply our nature to love one another at all times, with the pure love of God.

Until then, I'll pray and trust God to change me to be what I should be and that I can learn to let God's love flow through me instead of my human nasty side blocking God's love.

Proverbs 24:17-18 KJV
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

Polyphemus Moth and Gas Pump???

2010-07-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

Uh - why is a Polyphemus Moth hanging out at a gas pump?

Oh yes, it was quite a surprise to find this huge moth with a 6" wingspan at the gas pump in the afternoon.

We find Polyphemus moths quite often at our moth light in the early morning, a bright light with a white sheet underneath it. Moths are attracted to light and the white sheet reflects the light, creating a huge white glow. We are able to photograph these beauties by picking them up off the sheet, placing them on a piece of bark, and taking a picture. Then we can allow them to fly away again.

But in the middle of the afternoon? Yes, it flew in to the bright light at night but it sure hung around for a long time at a busy gas station. Did no one notice it? I noticed it simply because I notice moths and butterflies quickly.

I placed her in a brown paper bag for a few hours, she laid some eggs, and I could release her to finish laying eggs in nature. I could then raise some moths from the eggs she laid.

As I thought about it, I realized that once again I was on the verge of taking a gift for granted. It isn't every day I find such a beauty in such an unexpected place.

Uh - thinking of unexpected places to find gifts, I realize tonight that once again, I have often been given a certain gift but not one that I appreciate as much as this beautiful moth.

I was given the 'gift' of:

An opportunity to exercise patience
An opportunity to exercise self-control
An opportunity to control my tongue (fingers on the keyboard)
The opportunity to pray for others who would not expect me to pray for them and who I wouldn't, in my human self, think to pray for ...

The question is, am I seriously praying for the good of others who despitefully use me? It's always the time for a self-check and always time for a God check. I pray that God will 'try my reins and my heart' and reveal to me where my attitude is not in alignment with Him. He wants the best for me and those who see things differently than I do. It's not about me. It's about God. It's about Jesus. It's about the Holy Spirit working in me. I pray that I will step back and allow the Holy Spirit to work in me.

{Even now as I preview this to publish, I realize that I still haven't taken time to pray not just for others but for myself. I need prayer worse than others - the fact that I wrote this and still hadn't prayed about the situation is proof in fact!}

Psalm 26:1-3

Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

Matthew 5:44-45

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Luke 6:27-29

"But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also

Little Blue Butterfly

2010-06-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, the joy of traveling and taking photos of butterflies that we don't have in our part of Florida. While driving up the Blue Ridge Parkway we saw quite a few of these beauties. What a wonderful drive! I could stop where I wanted, wander and take photos, return to the car, and drive further up the parkway. Stephen napped while I wandered. We were both happy with the day.

After returning to the hotel, we downloaded images from the camera, edited this photo, and went to sleep in a quiet air-conditioned hotel room.

The next day we visited a temporary butterfly exhibit at WNCWild, drove a short while, and checked into a hotel. After uploading this photo, placing it on facebook to ask someone to identify it (I left my book at home), we headed out on foot to buy supper. Life is good ... other than one grumpy hotel clerk, it had been a great few days away from the farm. Butterflies or something butterfly related was in every single day.

Then - we decided to buy supper across the four-lane road. We went to the light and waited for the light to change. The red hand was up - NO WALK. The light changed but the hand stayed red. The light changed back and still - NO WALK. In four light changes, never did the light tell us that we could walk so we walked as soon as the light changed and we knew it was safe to walk. The 'walk' light was the one that didn't change; it was broken.

A truck was waiting to turn when the light changed and as it drove past the passenger rolled down his window and yelled out, "You're supposed to wait till YOU have the signal to walk". Stephen and I knew that we did the only thing we could do unless we went back and took the car. We walked when the light had changed and didn't jay-walk. The only problem was that the 'walk' light was red. The passenger in the truck was misjudging us because he only saw us for a minute - not the 15 or more minutes we were at that light waiting for the hand to turn green.

Stephen commented to me that it ought to teach us a lesson about when we judge others. We don't know their whole story. Yes, there are times we know someone else made an inexcusable bad decision. But more times than not, we can't know all the facts that lead up to decisions that others make. Sometimes we can't know everything that leads to us making our own decisions, let alone other people's decisions.

It appeared that Stephen and I were being rude. Instead, we were simply dealing with a broken electrical switch (or something along that line). What the passenger didn't realize was that we were well aware that they were waiting to turn and we moved as fast as we could so we wouldn't slow them down more than a few seconds. Appearances can be deceiving!

Now I wonder about the hotel clerk - what caused her to respond the way she did to us? Did she just lose a loved one? Did she and her boyfriend just break up? Did her child become ill? Did she fail a college test? Whatever caused her to react as she did isn't my business. My business is to pray for her. We hope that others pray for us when we're short with them as we should be praying for her.

Stephen and I hope we remember this lesson and apply it in our lives - remember that we don't know the facts in situations. Things are happening of which we aren't aware that cause people to make the decisions they make.

John 7:24 (Jesus was talking.)

"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."

Caterpillar Doing What?

2010-06-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars caught my eye yesterday and I had to take a few photos. What neat caterpillars they are!

When one is touched, it rears its head and thorax back, extends it's normally retracted osmeterium, and startles people and critters that hasn't seen such behaviour before.

Many of these caterpillars remind me of old science fiction horror movies. The monsters were often simply enlarged and slightly modified insects.

The back prolegs of the same caterpillar as pictured above are not what we'd expect. The colors are natural - we didn't change them for the photo.

What is the value of these critters?

Most people shudder at the sight of the above caterpillar. Value = paying for insecticides to kill them.

But the adult butterfly is valuable to nearly anyone. The males have iridescent blue on their hindwings. Value = people will pay to visit a butterfly exhibit to see them.

Value is truly in the eye of the beholder as far as we humans go. Most humans value the adult butterfly but not the caterpillar.

How blessed we are that God doesn't see us the same way. We're all valuable in the eyes of God. Our value is worth the blood of his son.

I rarely quote John 3:16 simply because it's quoted so often and so many people know that verse. But in some situations, it's the most appropriate verse in the Bible. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son; Jesus Christ."

That's putting a pretty high value on us. We thank God ...

Where is the Nectar?

2010-06-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

This cute little skipper butterfly is trying to drink nectar and as we watch it, we're cracking up. First, it's drinking through a hole an insect made in the side of the flower instead of through the open end of the flower. Second, the flower is detached from the plant. Nectar is no longer at the base of the flower. Shortly after we snapped this photo, the flower fell off, butterfly still holding onto it. As soon as the flower started falling, the butterfly flew to another flower.

It isn't an unusual sight. This Cloudless Sulphur butterfly is attempting to drink nectar from a flower that has fallen onto a leaf. It's like trying to drink through a straw lying on a table - not inserted into a glass. Nothing is at the other end!

Here the same thing is happening once again. This Gulf Fritillary butterfly is trying to drink nectar from this fallen canna lily bloom. The flower is covered with dew, but that's all.

These butterflies are driven by instinct. They see the flower and they do not register whether the flower is attached to the plant or not. They spend several minutes searching with their proboscises for nectar before they give up and fly to another flower.

Thinking about these butterflies who are failing in their search for food at these flowers or ending up drinking just dewdrops instead of nectar, it makes me want to stop and do a self-check on my feeding. Am I searching for food where none exists? Am I settling for less than full sustenance?

When Jesus talked with the woman at the well, he told her that he was the living water. Without her knowing that the best that God could give to her was there in person, talking with her, Jesus told her, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water."

She responded with, "Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw."

She didn't have it quite right but with our limited understanding, we can't have it quite right. But Jesus takes care of what we can't. She would still need to go to the well to draw water to drink for her physical body. The wonderful gift was that her spiritual body would be filled and not thirst.

I hope I never become satisfied with less than the best that God wants to give me.

John 4:10-15

Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

Cocoon Colors Like Easter Eggs!

2010-06-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

Silk moth cocoons (Bombyx mori) are cool.

A friend sent me some eggs of silk moths a few weeks ago. They hatched and I fed the caterpillars. And fed them and fed them and fed them and fed them - my poor mulberry tree.

After weeks of me cutting leaves and cleaning rearing containers, they finally started making their cocoons. They produce silk from spinnerets underneath their heads. Using from 1 - 3 THOUSAND feet of silk, they make a small cocoon around themselves. Inside its cocoon, the caterpillar changes into a pupa. A few weeks later, the adult moth emerges.

The wonderful surprise was the range of colors of cocoons. We didn't keep them on the table. Some look too much like Cheese Puffs.

As I enjoy the colors of cocoons, I thought about the colors of many things that I enjoy. From flowers to M&Ms to kittens to cocoons, color is a wonderful gift from God.

As I enjoy the colorful arrangement of cocoons, I am reminded of a song by D C Talk "Color Blind".

Part of the lyrics are:

"Pardon me, your epidermis is showing
I couldn`t help but note your shade of melanin
I tip my hat to the colorful arrangement
Cause I see the beauty in the tones of our skin
We gotta come together, and thank the maker of us all"

When I was in high school, race problems were so bad that we had 'riot days' when many students stayed home. These days were announced by other students in advance. Some students would start racial fights on those days. Mother and Daddy always allowed me to stay home. How sad it is that too often people use color to hurt and judge others.

Our children went to a local elementary school for six years before attending middle school. Although the school had a good percentage of black students, our children simply accepted the fact that people have different colors of skin. They grew up without a TV and were blessed not to be exposed to racism.

After the first week at the middle school, one of our children came home and asked, "Why do white people hate black people?" Oh dear. How do you answer that question? I can't remember exactly how we answered it. We did talk about differences of skin color and differences in people. We discussed that differences aren't due to race but to the way children are brought up by their parents or community. We discussed that children that 'hate' people of another color are taught that by others - it is not normal. It did strike me that in the elementary school, our children didn't notice a racism issue. Within a week of entering a new school, they were asking questions about what they were hearing from other students.

Our world is a broken world.

I wonder what colors of skin we'll have in heaven, covering our new bodies? What color will I be? Will my skin be the same color? Lighter? Darker? Will we all be one color? I can't imagine everyone being one color. One day I'll know ...

As has been said, "God created one race - the human race". I'm thankful for the 'colorful arrangement' of skin colors.

Genesis 1:26-28

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Dr. Harry Pavulaan Posted a Letter to the Mailing List!

2010-06-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

I subscribe to many lepidoptera mailing lists. Many of the emails that come through are immediately moved to 'tended to' or simply deleted. I don't have time to read all of them. But a few minutes ago a letter was posted to a mailing list from Dr. Harry Pavulaan. I immediately read it.

That started me thinking - there are some people I'll stop doing nearly anything to listen to them. They have so much knowledge and insight that it's an honor to learn from them. Many of them have written books about butterflies and/or moths. People like Dr. Thomas Emmel, Dr. Jaret Daniels, Marc Minno, Dr. Frank Davis, Dr. Chip Taylor, and so many more that I haven't named will always cause me to stop and listen or read what they have to say.

I had hoped to meet another lepidopterist today, Dr. Andrei Sourakov, a professor at the University of Florida. He wasn't able to make it because his baby became sick last night. I was thinking about how disappointed I was (and thinking about the baby too) then started thinking about people and who we will always take time to listen to. Some people will stop to listen to talks about birds, others cats, others ... well, every one of us seem to have a passion for something.

I'm thankful for those who have knowledge about butterflies and moths and take the time to share that knowledge. Most work and live busy lives so taking time to share with others like myself is often a sacrifice for them.

Mary also took time to listen to her friend and mentor, Jesus. Luke 10:39 "Mary, who also sat at the Lord's feet, and heard his word." She stopped what she was doing to listen to Jesus. Martha, her sister, also loved to listen to Jesus but let herself become encumbered with serving and missed the opportunity. (That part is another whole story.)

While I am thankful for those who take the time to share about butterflies and moths, it's much more important that I take time to listen to Jesus, our Father, and the Holy Spirit. I need to keep my passion for listening to Jesus more alive than my passion to listen to anyone or anything else.

What is it eating?

2009-12-27T08:29:00.000-08:00

While visiting a nursery that had a butterfly exhibit (the exhibit is now closed) Mike, the resident exhibit expert, received a phone call from a local gardener. The gardener was thrilled to see a caterpillar eating her fennel and she was positive it was a Tiger Swallowtail. Mike and I both knew that Tiger caterpillars do not eat fennel and had a good idea of what she was bringing for him to see.

As we expected, the caterpillar was an Eastern Black Swallowtail. The only confusing part, to us, was the fact that she hadn't seen an Eastern Black to know the appearance of a small caterpillar of that species. It's one of the first that most of us raise on the east coast of the US.

To most of us, when caterpillars of different species resemble each other, we never think too much about it. Much of our identity of a species is based upon what it is eating.

When I see a tiny caterpillar on parsley or fennel, I don't even think about a Tiger Swallowtail. They never eat parsley or fennel; they eat plants such as black cherry, tulip poplar (as in the second photo), or sweet bay. When I see a tiny caterpillar like the above photo on tulip poplar, I never think of an Eastern Black, although they greatly resemble each other. Eastern Black caterpillars do not eat tulip poplar.

Once a person looks at the young caterpillars enough, they are easy to identify without a plant, simply from their appearance. At first glance, though, they do resemble a lot!

Larger caterpillars of these species do not resemble at all! The larger Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillar is striped all over while the larger Tiger Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar is solid green with eye spots on its thorax.

I realized that humans are quite the same way. We can tell so much about another person by what they feed upon.

When someone sees me, what do they see me feed upon? Do I seek gossip and negativity? Or do I seek positive food, like clean talk and entertainment?

The old phrase, "You are what you eat" is quite true.

So now that I'm thinking about this, I need to think twice about what I feed upon. One thing I should feed upon is just instruction, admonishment, and correction from others. If I refuse to feed upon correction or spit when it is forced upon me, it cannot nourish me.

Solomon wrote it well:

Proverbs 10:8
The wise in heart accept commands

Proverbs 10:17
He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.

Proverbs 12:1
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.

Proverbs 19:16
He who obeys instructions guards his life, but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.

Proverbs 20:18
Make plans by seeking advice

Proverbs 21:11
When a wise man is instructed, he gets knowledge.

Reflections in a drop of water ...

2009-11-19T16:26:00.000-08:00

Dew drops and rain drops are beautiful. Gazing into a droplet of water shows the world in a different way. The flower in the dewdrop is a bloom of False Foxglove, a host plant of the Buckeye butterfly. The problem is that the drop of water turns the flower and everything reflected in it totally upside down.

This flower (and the caterpillar) are right-side up.

(Just to show the result of False Foxglove and the caterpillar, this is a Buckeye, our favorite butterfly.)

As fun as it is to see the upside down world through raindrops, it's wonderful that we aren't fooled by the effect of droplets of water. But then again, sometimes I do exactly that.

Sometimes I see people and events through raindrops, dewdrops, and teardrops. Tears in someone's eyes, mine or someone else's, can skewer a fact.

It's good to know that there is a REAL truth about everything. That no matter how I look at something, how much it is skewered in the looking, the truth is the truth. Reality is reality. Facts can be twisted to portray things that are not true but no matter how far facts are twisted, the twisting cannot change what is true.

I may believe that something is wrong or right or yes or no or ... whatever ... but the real truth isn't dependant upon how I look at it or how I feel about it.

Whether it's what someone believes about me or I believe about someone else. Whether it's about God or the butterfly or the flower, truth IS. My belief or view doesn't change what truth IS.

I am thankful that God knows the truth and what really IS. He is the one that matters. I pray that God will always open my eyes to real facts and close my eyes to anything skewered and portrayed as fact when it is not true.

Galations 6:7
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked"

Friend or Foe?

2009-11-18T12:12:00.000-08:00

What a cutie! This chalcid wasp lays eggs in soft chrysalises. Eating it from the inside out, it emerges as an adult wasp leaving behind a dead chrysalis. Good news for the chalcid but bad news for the butterfly!

Then suddenly, another predator spears the chalcid wasp and eats it. What an intricate relationship critters have with each other in nature. The orange milkweed assassin bug kills butterfly caterpillars as well as butterfly parasitoids and butterfly predators.

So what is this orange creature? Is it a butterfly's friend or foe? Someone who first spies the second photo would say it is a friend of a butterfly. But if the same person had seen it killing a caterpillar first, it would say it is a foe.

Like many creatures in the world, the milkweed assassin bug has the ability to be either friend or foe to a butterfly. It must eat but it can live on critters that are not juvenile butterflies.

In the spiritual world, we do have a foe that is a foe - no disguises here! Satan is an enemy of God's people. Even when he sidles up to us with a smile and 'have a good time', he is an enemy. Some enemies are enemies and by their very nature, they cannot be a friend. Ever. Never. No matter what.

I, however, have the same choices as the milkweed assassin bug; to be friend or foe to other people. I can do good or do bad. I can be indifferent or can be helpful. I can ignore or I can pray. I can reach out to lift up or to push under. The choice is mine.

I pray to God I always make the right choices. Sometimes it is hard to know what is the right choice. I pray for wisdom in those situations.

Sometimes it is necessary to act in a 'negative' manner. We shouldn't encourage bad behaviour in children. Punishment and correction is a decision that we must make on occasion. It's difficult when we are angry and it isn't clear in our own minds whether we are motivated by anger or proper motives.

Anger is often thought of as a negative thing. But the truth is that there is righteous anger. Sometimes it is wrong of us if we are not angry. There are times when we should be angry. But anger should never drive me to make a bad decision.

While talking with Stephen about some of these types of decisions I had to make, I realized that it boiled down to one thing; would I make the same decision if I was not angry at that person? Because I am angry at someone doesn't meant that decisions I make are motivated by anger - righteous or unrighteous, justified or not justified, good anger or bad anger - the motivation should be just in God's eyes.

Stephen offers me a flashing warning light; "Check your motives, Edith!" Stephen has worked hard to teach me this lesson. When I wonder about whether I should do or say something, I often give myself that instruction, "Check your motives, Edith, check your motives".

Ephesians 4:26 - 27
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.

Spider Mites on Passionvine

2009-07-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

Spider mites enjoy plants, damaging the leaves to the point that the leaves die. Once spider mites multiply unchecked on a plant, they look like this photo. Spinning silk webbing, they can cover the plant and can cause the death of the plant. Spider mites are especially prolific in hot dry weather/conditions.

Although the plant above looks fairly undamaged under the mites and webbing, the second photo reveals more of the true story of the true state of the plant.

Spider mites are so tiny that they are hard to see with the naked eye. The problem isn't the size of one mite, however, its the damage that many mites can do to a plant. Reproducing prolifically, it doesn't take much time for these critters to multiply to the point that a plant is killed.

Caterpillars of several butterfly species eat passionvine. Gulf Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary, Zebra Longwing, and Julia butterflies are use passionvine or passion flower as a host plant here in the United States.

Passionvine infested with spider mites start by being unhealthy for the caterpillar. The insects themselves can be eaten with the leaf, the mites' excrement is eaten, bacteria and mold that grows on the mites' excrement is also eaten by caterpillars.

While looking at sick caterpillars that had eaten food that wasn't healthy for them, it makes me wonder, am I altering the quality of my friend's food?

I can spend time with or write to people who I know and we could grow from our visit but if I gossip, I've altered the quality of our visit to the point that it can be poisonous.

I can spend time with or write to people but if I have a bad attitude, am angry without a just cause, am unforgiving, am proud, am selfish, and arrogant, I've altered ... and so forth.

Looking at these spider mites make me want to be more careful so I won't harm others or myself by adding unhealthy ingredients into our friendships and relationships.

Proverbs 18:24
There are “friends” who destroy each other ...

Butterfly Photography - NOT!

2009-07-19T18:13:00.000-07:00

Well, you wonder, what does THIS photo have to do with butterflies? (Moaning and groaning) A lot!

After surgery for disc removal and bone fusion, this is my neck for a month. After a month, I go into a soft collar. (Note that I did keep butterflies in my life by adding a soft butterfly scarf for comfort.)

My restrictions are:
~ No work except desk work.
~ Collar on during the day.
~ No strenous activity.
~ No bending over.
~ No lifting anything over five pounds.

It's not hard at all but it is frustrating. Although I still carry a camera everywhere, I rarely take a photo. I can't bend my neck, not supposed to bend over, and keep out of rough wooded territory since I can't watch my feet. If I fall, I could cause enough damage to require the surgery to be redone.

I miss my butterflies and caterpillars. I can't feed caterpillars, collect or release butterflies, take many photos, or take my normal fields and woods walks. I am not able to be on the computer as much as I'd like and I can't read unless I hold a book up in front of my face, causing very tired arms.

While thinking about the restrictions of the collar and wondering if people always had the collar after bone fusion in their necks, I realized that as frustrating as it is, I am extremely thankful for the collar.

I realized my collar protects me. It protects me from instinctive reaction to a childs yell (turn to see if he's hurt), people bumping me in a crowded restaurant, the grandchildren playing ball, and other things that could cause the bone to fuse improperly or for Dr. Lora to have to redo the surgery.

It protects me from myself and from others. It allows my bones in my neck to grow properly.

It protects me in the same way God's 'rules' protect me. It protects me from (1) myself, the old carnal sinful nature that is instinctive in all of us. It protects me from (2) others who may lead me into things that are not healthy for a growing child of God. It protects me from (3) Satan, who is always looking for ways to keep me from growing properly.

The more I thought about my collar and its purpose, the more thankful I became for the loving laws of God. Jesus gave us the two greatest commandments, to love God and to love others. If I truly follow those two laws, I will be protected from many dangers in life.

Matthew 22:36-40
"Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said unto him, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

A Helping Hand for a Fallen Butterfly Chrysalis

2009-07-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a pupating caterpillar won't attach itself to it's silk pad. In many cases, it falls and dies. But sometimes it falls and lands softly, still intact but unable to hang. Unless it hangs, it will be deformed and will either die as a chrysalis or will be a deformed butterfly.

The chrysalis on the left hung normally and formed a normal chrysalis. The chrysalis on the right didn't hang normally and is deformed. It will not become a normal adult Monarch butterfly.

When we pick up a freshly pupated chrysalis (which is a caterpillar without its skin), we can handle it gently without harming it. Any roughness will break its soft cuticle and it will start to bleed green blood.

Moving the fresh chrysalis is easy as long as it is handled gently. We can turn the chrysalis over and move it from hand to hand. We find the silk pad it had made for itself and to which it should be attached.

It will flip and twist, instinct telling it that it must attach itself to the silk pad. Because it's future life is hopeless unless it is attached to something immediately, we move it to the silk pad and hold it where its black cremaster will touch the silk pad. When it touches the pad, it will wriggle to work the microscopic hooks into the huge multitude of silk loops that make up its silk pad.

Once it has wriggled a few seconds, we can let go and allow it to hang as if it hadn't fallen. In the next short while, it will slowly reshape into the classic normal Monarch butterfly chrysalis shape. In a few hours, it will harden and be safe to touch and move about if needed. The life of that particular Monarch butterfly has been saved.

Sometimes the chrysalis isn't where it is easy to manipulate or the silk pad is too close to another chrysalis. In that case, we use a cotton ball or other item for it to grasp instead of its silk pad.

It grasps but the hold isn't as strong as if it grasps its own silk pad. The strong silk loops are missing. A loose bit of cotton is a adequate replacement but it is not the ideal item for it to attach itself to ... but better than lying down and becoming deformed.

This brings a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. Without our helping hand, these butterflies would have died.

It makes me think of the helping hands I have had in my life. The first one that comes to mind is Jesus, of course. My thanks start with life itself, moves to salvation (forgiveness), to my husband, family, friends, and even for many strangers!

2 Corinthians 9:15
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Ephesians 5:20
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Colossians 3:17
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Hebrews 13:15
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

(Text taken from www.bible.com)

Dogbane and Starvation

2009-07-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

Monarch caterpillars need milkweed. The only plant they can eat and grow into healthy Monarch butterflies is milkweed.

There is one plant that resembles milkweed so much that people will cut it to feed to the caterpillars they are raising indoors. That plant is dogbane. The result is starvation. The caterpillars simply will not eat it.

In these photos, the plant on the left if dogbane; resembles milkweed but Monarch caterpillars will not eat it. It takes an experienced eye or an person who has learned in one manner or another to tell the two apart.

Many people have starved their caterpillars to death by giving them dogbane, thinking that they were giving them milkweed.

It started me wondering. Have I 'starved' myself by not feeding on the spiritual equivalent of a Monarch caterpillar's milkweed?

What should I feed upon? Have I left something out?

After going through surgery last week with instructions not to ride in a car for a certain amount of time, I wasn't able to go to church Sunday. Without mentioning it to me beforehand, my husband brought home communion for me. He did this years ago when I was unable to go to church back then for a few weeks.

No, I wouldn't have starved without it but I would have been a bit 'nutritionally' or 'spiritually deficient'.

How wonderful it is to have someone else make sure that I have what I need to eat. With the opportunity to take communion, it would be a serious issue for me and to me if I didn't. I'm thankful for Stephen for making sure I have communion while I can't attend church and partake of communion there.

I thank God for my husband. Tomorrow is our 36th anniversary!

Luke 22:19
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Butterfly Release at the Cross

2009-04-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

Each Easter, members of our church bring cut flowers to tuck into a cross covered with chicken wire. Some flowers are purchased and some are picked from church member's gardens as they leave their homes to travel to church. By the time church starts, the cross is covered with flowers.

It's a beautiful cross and makes a wonderful backdrop for Easter family photos. Dozens of people take photos of their families after church, standing in front of the cross.

At the end of our Easter church service, each person receives a butterfly to release at the cross. At a signal from our pastor, the butterflies are released all at one time, each person individually releasing one butterfly.

Butterflies are passed out in glassine envelopes, which keep the butterflies safe and snug until they are released. These butterflies are farm raised and are first released into nature at the church. A sticker on the envelope reminds everyone of the reason for the release

Butterflies are especially symbolic of Christ and his Resurrection. The chrysalis is symbolic of the tomb or grave. The adult butterfly is symbolic of Resurrection, life, and hope.

When released, many of the butterflies fly to the flowers on the cross. After a short while, they fly off to find flowers for nectar and each species particular host plant to lay eggs.

Butterflies are now packed and waiting for their release tomorrow after church. Pastor Steve will share with us the glorious story of Christ, his Crucifixion, and Resurrection. After this message, we will go outside and release butterflies.

What we often forget is that Good Friday was the day that Mary watched her son, friends watched their friend, and brothers and sisters watched their brother being nailed to a cross, suffer, and die. It was not a glorious sight. It was horrible and heartbreaking. The cross was designed as a torturous death. It was a torturous death.

Most people's vision of the cross is fairly clean. It is made of clean wood (or other material) without the blood and groans of pain visible or audible. It is often draped with purple material. Even with the figure of a man painted or carved on the cross, the blood and agony isn't often shown.

This horrific death was suffered by thousands of people. Crosses were covered with the blood of thousands of people, some innocent of the crime they were accused of commiting but not innocent of any sin, like Jesus was. Thousands of backs were filled with splinters from crosses. But out of the thousands, only one could have simply spoken the word and had ten thousand angels to come to his rescue (see below).

Out of the thousands of crucified people, only one could have and did take my sins to the cross with him. Only one could take the punishment for my sins. Only one could have and he did.

So what is there to say about this type of love? This type of love that could only come from this man who did not WANT to go to the cross but loved the Father and loved me enough to do so. A man who had the power NOT to go to the cross but chose to do so even though it wasn't his will to die in that manner.

It was not HIS will to die this horrific death. But it was HIS will to do the will of the Father and that was what he prayed in the garden while his friends slept, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done".

There is so much I could say but what counts isn't what I say. It's what I do. It's what I think. It's what I am in the very depths of me, the very essence of myself, that counts. I pray that what I AM will speak for me of the love I have for this man, the son of God, who is God himself, Jesus Christ.

I am thankful that God has and will forgive me for the gaps between what I am and what I should be. That's what Easter is all about!

Matthew 26:53
"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?"

Luke 22:41-48
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

47And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.

48But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?

Luna Moth Green Caterpillars ....

2009-04-11T16:05:00.001-07:00

Green Luna Moths are large and beautiful. Their tails have a slight twist. Burgundy edges this fantastic creature. This is the moth of the Lunesta commercial!

Their wings have beautiful 'eyes'. Scales cover their wings, giving the moths various colors in their eyespots. Both the forewings and hindwings have eye spots.

Sweet Gum leaves are one of the host plants for these moths. The leaves are the same color as these caterpillars. When not eating, they rest on the stems or petioles, with head and feet raised. They have six real legs in front and ten prolegs in back.

When not eating, their six legs are folded together. These particular caterpillars were preparing to molt. Their head capsules were on the tip of their heads and their prolegs were locked into a mat of silk. After about a day, they would crawl out of their old tight skin, remove their head capsule (like a mask), and continue their lives.

I introduced these green caterpillars to Michael and Caden this week. They've seen thousands of caterpillars, but have not noticed the Luna moths. Their position fascinated the boys. The caterpillars were out of food and we added branches of Sweet Gum leaves to the containers where they were being raised.

I asked the boys if they knew what the caterpillars were doing and asked them to look at their legs. They responded with a puzzled "No". I teased them with "They're praying and thanking God for the leaves we're feeding them."

Michael and Caden are familiar with praying and thanking God for their food. But the idea of caterpillars doing the same was quite a new one. They studied the caterpillars closely. At supper, they told Stephen (Papa) about the caterpillars praying and thanking God for the food we brought them. (They knew that I was teasing them and they were now teasing Papa in turn.)

I grew up with a Daddy and Mother who never ate a meal (or let us eat a meal) without first thanking God for it. The idea of eating any meal without giving thanks was a foreign one. Of course, we didn't always stop to give thanks for a bag of candy or a bowl of ice cream. We teased about it sometimes, saying that God knows we're always thankful for dessert!

As I thought of this later, I thought about how I so often take so many blessings for granted, not stopping to thank God for them. Things like being free from asthma and allergies, being able to move about freely and see with my eyes, living in Florida with long summers and (compared to the north) mild winters, and living with modern medicine and a full educational system. Friends; I fail to thank God often enough for friends and the blessings they bring into my life.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Incomplete Molt; Restricted Life

2009-03-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

Molting is a normal process for caterpillars. As they grow, they must molt (shed their old skin) to grow larger. If they do not molt they will die.

Sometimes a caterpillar will start to molt but some of the old cuticle (skin) will stick. Usually, when it doesn't properly molt, it will die.

If a caterpillar doesn't molt at all, it will die due to restriction all over it's body. It is totally bound up in it's 'old self'.

Sometimes the skin will cause a restricted area around it's body. As the caterpillar grows, the circle of old skin restricts one area of its body. That one area stays the same circumference. In time, it cannot function properly and will die.

The arrow in the above photo indicates an area where skin stayed completely around the caterpillar. It is restricted and cannot grow at this point. The front and back of the caterpillar will grow, but it will have a 'waist', not how God designed caterpillars!

If you look at only the front part or rear part of this caterpillar, it would look normal.

I wonder; is that how I am? Does my character look 'normal' when people only look at part of me? What is restricting me in one area that is keeping me from functioning as God intended? Or are there several rings of things I have let bind me in areas?

As I look back over my life, I see where I did shed things that once restricted me.

One of those things is that as long as I am concerned with what God thinks of me, I have learned to not care what others think in certain situations. Sometimes obeying God makes others think badly of us. I have learned to let go of concern about how I appear to people and instead be concerned about what God thinks of me and also how I reflect God to others.

Caterpillars with Wings!

2008-12-21T12:48:00.000-08:00

An older caterpillar starts developing adult butterfly parts before it changes into a chrysalis. In fact, a caterpillar has wings. The wings are simply developing inside of the caterpillar and they're not NEAR ready to use. Along with wings, its proboscis, legs, antennae, eyes, and other adult body parts are developing out of sight. The photo below has these parts labeled. Normally I don't use such a large photo on the blog, but with this photo, I wanted the parts clearly visible.

This photo is of a freshly pupated caterpillar. Remember; a chrysalis is simply a caterpillar without its skin. A few minutes before I took the photo, it was a Jing caterpillar, preparing to pupate. In three minutes, it changes from a caterpillar to an adult by simply 'shedding its skin'.

The labeled body parts that you see in this photo started developing in the caterpillar. As the soft fresh chrysalis reshapes over the next hour and develops for a week or more, these body parts as well as other adult butterfly body parts continue to develop. After they have fully developed, the adult butterfly emerges.

There are quite a few things going on inside the caterpillar and chrysalis that no one can see.

I try to always remember that when I am down on me. Hey, there's a lot of 'worm' about me but God is developing some pretty wonderful things inside me. No, not because I am special myself but because God loves me.

For years I have found myself praying that God will do two things:
1. Show me where I am wrong and need to change or grow
2. Show me wherd I have grown and changed for the better

The first one is easy. I see things I need to change every day. Patience, self-control (chocolate?), generosity, tolerance - it's enough to get downright discouraging! I know its God showing me because it's normal for people to think that they have a right to be impatient; after all (people often think), I'm as important (or more so) than he/she is! And so forth. It takes God to show me that eating wrong is a lack of self-control and no matter how bad my day has been, I need to take better care of the gift he gave me - a healthy body. Some fun food is fine as long as I do eat right overall.

The second one is what keeps me from becoming discouraged! God is gracious enough to show me where I have grown. How can I become discouraged when I can see God working in me? Sometimes (sadly, not always) I step back and allow someone else to go ahead of me (if I'm the only one in line so I'm not giving away other people's place in line too), I do turn down chocolate and other unhealthy food often, I sometimes give away things I want for myself, I realize that others have as much right to be wrong as I do (that grows tolerance in me), and I become encouraged. God IS working in me. I may not be changing fast, but I am changing inside. People may not see it on the outside yet - but I know that there are things going on inside that mean I am maturing.

Caterpillars Grow and Grow and Grow and Grow

2008-12-16T17:13:00.000-08:00

Butterfly caterpillars grow and grow and grow.

These caterpillars grow about 2,800 times the weight they were when they hatched.

If they don't eat enough, they'll not grow as large. The photo below shows two chrysalises; one ate plenty and grew large. The other one didn't eat enough and didn't grow as large. Both emerged as beautiful adult Monarch butterflies. (Note: the word 'cocoon' isn't the proper term for a butterfly pupa).

Several things can keep a butterfly or moth caterpillar from growing to it's full potential:
1. Not enough food available (early frost, too many caterpillars, too early in spring for the food to grow fast enough to keep up with the demand)
2. Temperatures too cold (late fall and early spring) for the caterpillars to be active and eat well
3. Disease; sick caterpillars often lose their appetites
4. Too crowded; too many caterpillars on the same plant and they keep bumping each other or even purposely knocking each other off their plant
5. Plant losing it's nutrition (plant pests draining leaves of nutrition, drought)
6. Plant tasting wrong (spray on the leaves that change the taste, plant pests leaving a large amount of excrement on which sooty mold grows, strong fertilizers or other nutrients/chemicals drawn up by the roots into the leaves)
7. An older caterpillar becoming 'lost' and cannot find the host plant again to continue eating
8. And many other reasons!

It's sad to see a small version of a butterfly that we know is much smaller than normal. We know that something happened to cause it to be so much smaller than normal.

It will be mature; just much smaller than it's potential mature size.

But it's great to see that it did live to become an adult, even if it has not reached its full potential! If it doesn't have enough nutrition, it will starve to death and cannot become an adult. Sometimes it will become a chrysalis but doesn't have enough strength / life to finish developing to become an adult; an additional week or more as a chrysalis.

Quite often I look at myself and see that I am much 'smaller' or less mature than I should be. At 53, as a Christian for my entire life, I should have matured far beyond what I have to date. As a 53 year old 'newborn' Christian, I wouldn't expect so much out of myself - but as I said, I'm not a 'newborn' Christian. I was blessed to be raised in a Christian home where God was first - PERIOD.

Self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit. So are the eight other attributes that I don't like to look at too close. Sigh. It takes a long time for this fruit to grow in me! Some parts of this fruit are more more developed than others.

I think about love and my first reaction is, 'Sure, I have love'. Then I remember that Jesus said that we are to love our enemies. Well, maybe I really don't have love in the sense Jesus used the term. It's easy to love those who love me. 'Full-grown' love is one that loves enemies as well as friends and loved ones. The love Jesus talks about is an action, not a feeling. We can't command our feelings but we can command our actions.

Joy; yes-sir-ree, I have joy! Then things go 'wrong' and I lose that 'joy'. But then I realize that I often mix up joy and happiness and yes, I do lose my happiness but I always have had the joy that God puts inside me. Hopefully, I'll never be tested with really rough times and have my fruit of joy tested.

Peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness ... each one of these parts of the fruit of the Spirit needs to grow to its full potential within me.

How do I grow this fruit to the right 'size'? As I think about it, I realize that this fruit grows the same way as a caterpillar grows, but feeding on the right food. If the Spirit of God is within me, my spirit grows and the fruit will grow.

I can be less than the potential God intends me to be; it's up to me. I can feed on the Word of God and by spending time talking to God, thanking God, asking God to grow me. Or I can ALL spend my time doing other things without taking time for God.

So what is my excuse:
1. Not enough food available? There is plenty for me to feed upon. I can't claim this excuse.
2. Conditions not suitable for me to be active and eat well? No, once again, conditions are perfect - I'm not always as active and feeding on the right things out of my laziness. Not an excuse.
3. Disease; hmmm - could I be allowing myself to become 'diseased' by allowing things to grow in me that shouldn't? Things like worry, lack of faith that God is in control, or other 'diseases'? Not an excuse.
4. Too crowded; no - I have plenty of time alone to read and study God's word and to talk with God in prayer. Not an excuse.
5. Plant losing it's nutrition; absolutely not. God's word does not change. Nothing can alter it's 'nutrition'. Not an excuse.
6. Plant tasting wrong; well, my attitude can cause problems with the taste but the taste of God's word is always good. But if I've become immersed in myself and don't want to listen to God's word because it will reveal my faults (as it should) then yes, it will taste 'wrong' because of my taste buds, not because of the 'taste' of God's word. Not an excuse.
7. Becoming 'lost' and cannot find food; God's word in this country is always nearby. God is always with me. I can choose to walk away but God will never leave me. Not an excuse.
8. And many other reasons - but none of them can I claim as an excuse for myself to not have enough to eat and grow as I should.

Even if I do not fully 'mature' or 'grow', I am still a child of God, like a smaller than normal adult butterfly is still an adult butterfly. But I am robbing myself and others if I don't feed properly to fully grow and mature.

It's past time for me to start 'eating' heartily in the spiritual sense. I thank God that there is always enough spiritual nutrition at hand for me to grow and produce fully 'grown' and mature fruit of the Spirit.

Galations 5: 22, 23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control;

Matthew 5: 43 -
Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;

Ugly Beginnings

2008-12-02T16:12:00.000-08:00

Imagine finding what looks like a little pile of caterpillar frass (poop) on a leaf. You turn over the little pile and find a pupa of either a butterfly or moth. What an odd place to find such a thing! Looking at the above photos, who would ever guess that something beautiful could come from this nasty little pile?

When I found this little pupa, I brought it home and kept it secure until the moth or butterfly inside emerged. I had no idea what species was inside, developing it's mature wings and body.

Imagine my surprise when I found the beautiful small green moth that emerged one day. This little moth resembles a butterfly with it's posture; wings upright over its back.

I started thinking about how much beauty comes from 'ugly' things. Our human judgement is not commendable.

This caterpillar is also considered 'ugly' ....

... and so is this chrysalis. The caterpillar has lumps, bumps, and not much beautiful about it. The chrysalis is also brown and lumpy.

Yet the Red-spotted Purple butterfly that develops from this caterpillar and chrysalis is a real beauty. One would never dream that such beauty could come from this brown lump of a chrysalis.

This time of year we think of a spot that was also very disgusting to our human minds. A spot where animals were kept; with smells from animals and the smells of fresh manure of those animals very present. The word 'manger' brings images of clean beautiful surroundings, fresh hay, clean little lambs and donkeys, such as we see in 'manger' scenes and paintings. But lets look at the truth; even when a stable is cleaned regularly, it definitely keeps the smell of manure.

Now imagine the stable on the night that Jesus was born. There were so many people in Bethlehem that the inn was full. There arrived a man and a woman who was so far advanced in her preganacy that she delivered her baby that night. The inn was so full that the only option she had was the stable. This stable must have been filled with animals that people rode as they traveled to Bethlehem; remember that the town was full of people who came to register for the census.

No matter how many times the stable was cleaned, it simply must have been dirty when Mary was giving birth to Jesus. So many people had traveled to the town that the inn was full. Their animals would have been in stables. A very real fact about animals is manure. No matter how often a stable is cleaned, it will be dirty.

The smell of dirty sweaty animals must have been heavy. Mary's feet must have been dirty with manure as she walked through the stable. Joseph must have cleaned an area for Mary to lie down and to give birth to the baby that they both knew was far from an 'ordinary' baby. Angels had talked to each of them privately, months before. I can't believe that Joseph would have allowed this baby to be born in the midst of dirty animals and manure if he had any other option.

We can't know what it was really like; how many animals, how bad it smelled, how much manure was on the floor, what the surroundings were for this woman to give birth to her son. But it had to be dirty by our standards of living quarters, let alone a delivery room.

But we do know that the truly most beautiful thing ever to enter this world was our saviour, Jesus Christ. The son of God - who came from surroundings we humans consider 'ugly'.

Matthew 1 : 18 - 21
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Luke 1 : 26B - 38
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel[e] forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.

Luke 2 : 1-7
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.(This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

Luke 2 : 15 - 16
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger

Spider Webs & Butterflies

2008-11-16T16:33:00.000-08:00

Spider webs are sad for butterflies. Many butterflies lose their lives in spider webs.

A few days ago I walked into an area of the garden and saw this sight; a Viceroy butterfly caught in a spider web. As usual, my camera was strapped to me and I stopped to take a photo. I reached up to remove the web and realized this Viceroy was still alive! I gently removed the webbing and let it fly. No problem; it was READY to go! Normally the butterfly is struggling and I know it is alive without touching it.

I thought about all the butterflies I find in webs that are dead; obviously dead.

As I thought about the butterfly over the next fews days, I thought about all the butterflies that struggled to get loose and either was killed by the spider or, if the web was old, just starved in the web. Yes, they're 'just insects' but I have a strong emotional attachment to these winged beauties! I always am thrilled when I know that I saved one.

'Saved' one. I keep thinking how Christians use words that people who did not grow up in a Christian church or family have trouble understanding. Christian terms are often like a foreign language. 'Saved' is a Christian term, too.

Christians say, "I'm saved" and to those who don't understand Christian language, it sounds very odd. What are we saved from? How are we saved?

Having grown up in a Christian home where God was as real as anything else in this world, I was kept from a lot of things that many people have had to battle. But even so, I was born with a carnal nature; selfish and without thoughts for God or others. People ask me about that; what do I mean that I was born selfish? The answer is simple. Watch any child. 'Mine' is often the first word a younger child learns. Older siblings tend to take their toys because the younger one isn't strong enough to hold on to it. Older siblings often clearly show that selfish 'me' nature.

Selfishness is normal; for most children, sharing is a taught action.

A child that doesn't throw a temper tantrum, doesn't take what doesn't belong to her, that does her chores, that never lies, that .... well, the list goes on ... that child doesn't exist. Every child has to learn to fit into society and live by the rules of unselfishness. That's the carnal nature that we are all born with. Yes, some are naturally more generous than others but even so, every one is born with the 'me' attitude.

I'm thankful that I have been 'saved'. Once I was old enough to understand about God and Jesus, I had the choice of turning from the nature that was natural in me and to ask for forgiveness and ask God to lead me for the rest of my life. Learning to leave the old nature behind was/is a slow process. Even now, at 53, I find the old nature is still here. (Especially when chocolate is around! Grin) But I know that God will welcome me when I die - to join him for eternity. Things will be the way HE intended it from the beginning!

I'm thankful for the one who 'saved' me.

Microscopic Killers - Ophryocystis electroskirrha

2008-11-15T19:14:00.001-08:00

Disease is a nasty part of a butterfly's world. A glance at a Monarch butterfly will not always reveal whether it is diseased or not. Sometimes it takes a microscope to make that determination.

The touch of a piece of clear tape to the abdomen of a Monarch butterfly removes some of its scales. The loss of those few scales does not harm the butterfly. A look through the microscope shows us a world we cannot see with our naked eye; scales and more.

One terrible disease that Monarch butterflies contract is Ophryocystis electroskirrha (OE). OE infection can be light to heavy. Heavy infection can cause the butterfly to die. Many Monarch butterflies in the wild live without problem with heavy OE infection. The photo above shows OE spores on and among a Monarch's scales. This Monarch was heavily diseased. The spores look like small dark footballs. A spore is, simply put, a disease seed. Under the right conditions it will 'sprout' and grow.

The only way caterpillars can contract OE is to swallow one or more spores. Over 100 spores can fit on one butterfly scale. A butterfly chrysalis or adult cannot contract OE although the adult is the carrier of the spores. The photo below is of a Monarch egg with one scale on it, left behind when the egg was laid. This one scale may have over 100 OE spores on it.

At a butterfly farm, farmers often wash Monarch eggs in a light bleach solution. This washing operation does not harm the eggs or caterpillars inside the eggs. It does kill OE spores. Because a hatchling caterpillar eats its eggshell, if a spore is on the egg and the hatchling swallows it, it will contract OE. If eggs are washed with a mild solution of bleach, the spores are killed.

The photo above is of OE spores in a light bleach solution. Bleach has killed some of the spores, breaching their cuticles and destroying the spores themselves.
This started me thinking of how many things in my life won't hurt me until I 'swallow' it. These things are all around me and it’s my choice whether to 'eat / swallow' them or not. The caterpillar doesn't have the knowledge that it is swallowing an OE spore and does not have a choice in the matter. I usually have the knowledge when I'm 'swallowing' something I shouldn't swallow.
I 'swallow' things that come from within me and from outside of me. What kinds of things do I find myself 'swallowing' that I shouldn't?
Unrighteous anger and resentment are two things that I ‘swallow’. These things come naturally into all our minds. A thought is like a spore. It is when I dwell on a bad situation that I have started 'swallowing' these 'spores'. Dwelling on a bad situation can cause that can create unrighteous anger or resentment. It is when I dwell on them that they start to grow inside me up to the point that they can take over my life. There is a righteous anger - and there is an unrighteous anger. Anger itself is not sin; it's the type of anger and what I do with it. (Psalm 4:4) I learned not to 'swallow' this by trying to make peace with people who tend to make me angry. If that does not work, I simply try to ignore their efforts to do whatever would make me angry. Once I refuse to 'swallow' anger and resentment, I find myself praying for the other person and it becomes hard to become angry and resentful at someone when I realize how much they need prayer. It also makes me aware of how graceful others have been when they prayed for me rather than becoming angry or taking offense.
Thanklessness is a horrible disease. When I go through my life without looking around and thanking others, I've swallowed the spore of thanklessness.
Pride can be another disease. Praise is not bad for any of us. It can help us as long as we realize that God is the only source of all good things. When we are obedient, we are acting as a part of the body of Christ. He is doing good things through us or giving us good things. Believing that anything good is of me and forgetting that anything good within me is from God, that is swallowing the spore. Praise is good as long as we keep it flowing, up to the right source, God. When I allow it to sit in me it will cause me to become diseased with this horrible 'disease'; unrighteous pride.

Mark 7 20-23
And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

Psalm 4:4
Be angry, and do not sin ...

They are what they eat; Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly Caterpillars

2008-11-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

They say 'You are what you eat'. These caterpillars prove it to be true! Cloudless Sulphur caterpillars that eat green leaves of their host plant (Cassia and Senna plants) are green while caterpillars that eat the flowers of their host plant are the color of the flowers.

Part of the fun is that the markings on a caterpillar after it turns to yellow are different than when it was green. If it starts eating green leaves again, it will turn green again in a day or two. The markings change back to normal markings on a green caterpillar.

Even small caterpillars turn color when they eat blooms.

I've found this to be true in my mind. Whatever my thoughts are feeding on is what I become. If I am resentful and thinking of negative things, I become negative. If I am thinking of good things, I become happy and giving.

Some negative things are realities of life; the news is full of horrible happenings. To be aware of these things and to do what I can as well as pray for these situations is one thing. To dwell on them to the point that they make me depressed is another.

When negative things happen to me or people I love, it can be hard to not become negative. I found the key is to feed on positive things even in hard times. Some of the very positive things is heaven and Jesus.

When all else fails, I try to remember Romans 8:28. For those who love God, all things work together for good. That doesn't mean that I won't become terribly sick or even a quadriplegic. It doesn't mean that I won't lose someone (or several people) who are near and dear to me. What it means is that God will work through those things for good.

A wonderful day for me was when I realized that Psalms 23 doesn't say "You keep me from walking through the valley of the shadow of death" it says "even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death".

Even in that valley, God comforts me with the promise that all things are working together for the good and that heaven awaits those who love Him.

Psalms 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Butterfly Hair

2008-11-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

While doing a presentation at a school in Ocala, Springs Elementary, I was asked by the students if butterflies had hair. I was totally stumped. New to butterflies, I had seen the 'hair' on lots of butterflies, including Monarchs (photo above) and Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (photo below). I was not sure what it was myself!

I had to admit that I didn't know exactly what the 'hair' was on a butterfly but I would certainly get back with them. My first step after arriving back home was to check my facts. I then wrote to the class to explain that no, butterflies do not have hair.

Instead, they have several types of scales and one of these types resembles hair.

This reminds me again of how easy it is for me to be fooled by things/people who are not what they seem to be.

And I am reminded to beware - I find myself deceiving myself sometimes, not wanting to face truth.

One thing for sure; anything that uses deception is not what I should embrace. God never uses deception. He IS truth.

II Cor 11 : 13-15
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.

I John 1:8
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and(V) the truth is not in us.

John 8 : 44-47
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

A Helping Hand

2008-10-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

While gathering pipevine leaves to feed some caterpillars we had in the office, I found this caterpillar trying to slip its head into its silken girdle while preparing to pupate.

The problem was a wasp. The wasp was trying to kill the caterpillar. The caterpillar was trying to wiggle enough to keep the wasp from grabbing hold. Sooner or later the wasp would have won because the back prolegs of the caterpillar was already locked into its silk pad in preparation for pupation.

I broke the stem and brought in the caterpillar. As always, I stopped along the way to take photos (once the wasp had left). This photograph is one of my favorites; the caterpillar is preparing to slip its head and body into the silken girdle (loop).

It finished the job indoors ...

the caterpillar pupated normally ...

and emerged as a big healthy beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly.

I started raising butterflies nine years ago to save them from predators. It's a never-ending job. Nature does a good job of keeping butterfly populations in balance. If more than 2 out of 100 eggs in the wild lived to be an adult, we'd have problems driving down the road. But even with that knowledge, my gut reaction is sympathy for the caterpillar, not the wasp.

I know that I've saved tens of thousands of butterflies through intervention and farming. It feels good.

It makes me think of those who have saved me from natural and spiritual enemies and even from myself and my tendency to make bad choices.

But most of all, the Holy Spirit saves me from making bad choices and Jesus saved me from the natural consequences of the bad choices I made in spite of being told that they were bad choices.

What a beautiful word; 'save'.

WHAT are these???

2008-09-29T17:23:00.001-07:00

God has such an imagination. This little green critter is being held between my thumb and first finger. It's about 1 inch long.

Another such tiny critter is this one that resembles a seal.

Now for a look at the entire 'seal'.

After emerging as an adult, this 'seal' is actually a Tropical Checkered Skipper butterfly.

I often wonder if God is grinning when I 'discover' another of his little jokes. So many bits of information about butterflies and moths are totally fascinating and can be somewhat confusing to a human mind.

Adult butterflies have two eyes and see pretty well. Caterpillars have twelve eyes and see light and dark. So where is the sense in that?

Add these items to the fun things God has hidden in his handiwork:
* Caterpillars that look like bird droppings
* Caterpillars with fake eyes
* Butterflies whose 'tail' looks like a head
* Caterpillars and chrysalises that create 'anti-freeze' so they can live through below freezing temperatures for weeks and months
* Chrysalises that look exactly like broken twigs

Isn't it great to know that God has such an imagination? No matter where I go when I wander, no matter what species of butterfly or moth I find, there is always something to make me laugh.

I thank God for giving us something so original to laugh at ... His wonderful handiwork.

Stephen was reading today about creation, "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." Romans 1:20

Apples

2008-09-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

Some butterflies enjoy fruit. This Viceroy discovered the apple hanging less than 30 minutes after it was first hung in the tree.

Question Mark butterflies also enjoy apple. This one was offered a slice of apple and decided it was supper time.

Many people have been taught that Eve ate an apple in the Garden of Eden. Truth is, we don't know if she ate any apples or not. I assume there were apple trees in the Garden of Eden. Apples are mentioned nine times in the bible, but not actually mentioned as growing in the Garden of Eden.

But what Eve did eat was the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That tree was growing in the middle of the garden. Before God made Eve, God had told Adam not to eat from that tree.

The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was never named.

The crafty serpent asked Eve ... uh ... let's stop a minute. Have you thought about what life must have been like for Even to calmly stand and talk to the serpent? First, it talked to her. About that time I'd be checking myself into a mental hospital. She just calmly carried on a conversation with the serpent.

The Bible tells us that Eve ate of the fruit and also gave some to Adam. Now I used to think of this as Adam not knowing where the fruit came from but I realized after reading this historical account again (Genesis 2 and 3) that the account reads, "She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it". So obviously Adam knew what was going on.

Like his mode of operation, the serpent told a bit of truth, "For when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil". He also added in a bit of untruth, "You will not surely die".

Satan is a whiz at taking a bit of truth and mixing it in with a bit of untruth to make the whole thing untrue. He also deceives me the same way he deceived Eve.

After eating of the fruit, Adam and Eve did know good and evil.

Adam and Eve used the same means of defending themselves that we still use today.

Adam's excuse: When God asked Adam, "Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?", Adam responded, "It's not my fault, it's all your/her fault". Oh, you want the Bible's words? "The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it." Translation: YOU gave her to me (it's your fault) and SHE gave it to me (and it's her fault too) (and it's not my fault at all, I'm the victim).

Eve's excuse: When God asked Eve, "What is this you have done?" she responded, "I was deceived, it's not my fault, it's all his fault". Reading the NIV it's worded, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate".

So I have several lessons to remember when I see an apple:
1. It wasn't an apple in the Garden of Eden that Eve and Adam ate.
2. Satan uses truth and mixes it with a lie. Truth + lie = all lie
3. It's never the other person's fault when I make a bad decision. It's my fault.
4. I need to love God so much and have a good relationship with him so that I will never want to disobey God.

Eye see what?

2008-09-13T17:55:00.001-07:00

Eyes are deceiving. This blue headed caterpillar is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly 'child'. When it 'grows up' it will be a fantastic butterfly!

As an adult, it sees through compound eyes, hundreds of everything. We see just one of everything. (We SHOULD see just one of everything!)

But the caterpillar ('child' stage) of the butterfly sees things quite different. The photo below shows its six eyes on just one side of its head. Yes, six eyes on each side of its head. The 'eyes' you see are not eyes but skin spots. It's eyes are on the sides of its little sky blue head.

A butterfly sees hundreds of every object. Caterpillars discern only light and dark.

When Paul wrote a letter to the Christians at Corinth, he spoke of Satan who blinds the eyes of people so they can't see the glorious light. Unlike the caterpillar, these people can't even see light at all.

John shared his knowledge that God IS light. The neat thing is that where there is light, there can't be darkness. The deepest darkness is broken by a single match or candle. If there is light, the caterpillar can discern it.

2 Cor:4
"Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God."

I John:5-7
" This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin."

Blue Morpho Butterflies

2008-08-10T17:48:00.001-07:00

Dark butterflies blend in with shadows and tree trunks. These Blue Morpho butterflies were drinking from decaying fruit on a recent trip to the Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville.

When they flew, though, their beautiful blue upper wings caught everyone's attention! It's like flashes of light - somewhat resembling police car's lights!

There is a purpose of their wings being drab on the outside and the inside being bright and showy. When they rest or drink, their wings are closed and they blend into the surroundings - predators aren't as apt to notice them.

Having grown up in a family where Bible reading was as much a part of life as eating, I couldn't help but hear Jesus' words ring in my head.

Mark 4:21
And He was saying to them, "A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?"

Matthew 5:14-16
14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Unlike a Blue Morpho, our 'light' is supposed to always shine. We aren't to hide our light.

It's hard to let it shine at times. Things we are tempted to do (or not do) can hide our light. We can 'blend in' easily by using language that other people use, trying to take revenge when we shouldn't, and other such actions. We should be proud to stand for honesty, peace, love, and Jesus.

It's a weakness when I try to blend in to avoid ridicule or sneering. It's a weakness when I bicker with people in order to defend myself against untruths about me. It's a strength when I stay silent and simply wait for the truth to reveal itself. It's a weakness when I 'go along' with those who are doing things that aren't pleasing to God in order to keep others from being angry with me. I should stand for Jesus even when it brings hard times and misunderstandings from my friends (and non-friends).

It took a while for me to realize that the strongest man is the one who yields to Christ and stands firm against ridicule. It's the weak man that gives in to peer pressure.

Molting Caterpillars

2008-08-10T11:46:00.001-07:00

Caterpillars skin never grows. When they grow too large for their skin, they crawl out of it (molt) with a new baggy skin that allows them to continue growing. If they can't escape from their old skin, they're doomed to die in the tight skin that doesn't allow them to grow.

This happens several times before a caterpillar becomes a chrysalis. Most caterpillars that people raise in their homes will molt four times. The first time, they are so small that no one can see the caterpillar well, let alone realize it is molting!

Watching caterpillars molt brings a question to my mind; What is keeping me from growing as a Christian? Whatever it is, I need to get 'out' of it and grow.

As I examine myself, I realize that some of what keeps me from growing is not letting go of yesterday. Things positive I like to hold onto and keep close to me. Things negative I tend to hold onto and keep close to me. And I especially need to let go of negative things.

One of the 'positive' things I have realized that I need to 'grow out of' is enjoying my food too much. From M&Ms to fried chicken to M&Ms to bacon to M&Ms to pizza to ... well, you get the drift. I've thought quite a bit lately of the fact that we are the temple of God. Now how should I treat the temple of God? Not by doing things that cause it to crumble down around my ears, that's for sure. By not eating right, I'm not taking care of this temple. To know to do something and not do it ... that can keep me from growing. (Uh ... but in this case I don't mean growing physically, as into a larger jean size!) Why should God give me more when I don't take care of what he has given to me?

A 'negative' thing I need to grow out of is dwelling on negative thoughts. Things I wish I had done or said different or not at all, times that I (or those I love) have been misunderstood or misjudged, or times I have misunderstood or misjudged others, and so many more things! Time spent in negative thoughts is wasted time. I must first ask forgiveness or to forgive, and to move forward into today.

Spending more time with my best friend of all, God, is the best way to grow. But to do so, I must 'molt' by leaving behind some of the time I spend wastefully. No, not that the things are bad, but that the time could be better spent. I've started spending less time on the internet (that's hard, cutting out internet time) and putting more time into reading Christian books (Women of Faith and Joyce Meyer books at the present time) and listening to those who share about the lessons they've learned from God.

I won't be limited to four molts; I have too many things to grow out of ... and I can trust God to show me the things I need to leave behind. Sometimes it's not something I really want to leave behind until I do so; then I realize that what I treasured was simply something that I am much happier leaving out of my life.

I Cor. 6:16
"... for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

Phillipians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Split Proboscis

2008-08-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

Butterflies and moth adults drink through their proboscis. Instead of a mouth and tongue like we have, or a trunk and mouth like an elephant, their 'mouth' is simply two straws fused into one unit. Well, usually it's one unit! Sometimes the two tubes of a proboscis will not fuse and the butterfly has a split (divided) proboscis.

This can pose a serious problem for the butterfly. This Gulf Fritillary (photo above) can drink fluid when it is on a fairly flat surface. But it cannot insert its split proboscis into a flower to drink nectar.

The proboscis must be fused together for the butterfly to drink properly. The two tubes must work as a unit.

The Gulf Fritillary above is drinking from a small yellow center flower of a zinnia. If its proboscis was split, it could not drink from this flower.

Pastor Steve (First Christian Church of Starke) was talking today about how the body of Christ must work as a complete unit. He used a portion of the letter to the Roman Christians and portion of a letter to the Christian church at Corinth to illustrate this truth. The text (the verses Steve read) of those letters are copied below.

Sadly, too often Christians fail to work as a body and cause problems such as the split proboscis. Our ability to 'feed' and grow becomes limited.

When we disagree, often attention and focus is taken off of Christ Jesus and placed on other things that may or may not be important. We need to ask ourselves if they are so important that it's worth the heartache the 'subject of disagreement' can bring. If it takes focus off of Christ, it either isn't important OR the motivation (or basis) of the 'problem' is not truly for God but selfish motivation.

We can disagree on important things for the wrong reason and by doing so take focus off of God and place it upon ourselves and our insistence that we are 'right' and others are 'wrong'. (This can happen between Christians and Christians or between non-Christians and Christians.)

We can disagree on unimportant things (such as the color of the carpet in the church building) and by doing so, fail God completely!

For Example:
Christians disagree upon how often communion should be served. Jesus didn't say how often to take communtion. Disagreements of this type takes focus off of the purpose of communion and places it upon differences between Christian churches and upon which is right and which is wrong. Christians are all children of God. Christians are all forgiven for their disobedience. Whether Baptist, Methodist, or whatever name (or not taking a name) God's Christian churchs use, we're all God's children and we hurt God's heart when we squabble and hurt each other. Instead of disagreeing to the point of an argument and hard feelings, Christians should encourage each other to partake of communion in the spirit that Jesus taught us and not to get into disagreements upon how often or when it should be offered.

I need to remember to disagree only on things that are important enough to disagree upon AND to make sure that the motivation is pure; that the disagreement is for God's sake, not my own.

Romans 12:4-5
For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

I Cor. 12:12-27
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

14 For the body is not one member, but many.

15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?

20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.

21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:

23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.

24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.

25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

(Note; Bible text is often copied from www.bible.com.)

Chrysalis Color

2008-08-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

Black Swallowtail chrysalises can be two basic colors; green or brown. They can be various shades of green and brown but they are either green or brown. From pale beige to nearly black, from pale green to yellow green, to green green, to aqua green, their green shades vary.

The color of the chrysalis depends upon the enviroment where it pupates. If the surroundings have shades of green, it normally pupates green. If the surroundings have shades of brown, it normally pupates brown.

In various conditions from full light to full dark, we've set up experiments to see what color of chrysalises they will become. Although we are still conducting experiments, it so far it hasn't mattered if it has J'd and pupated in total darkness or in bright light. This surprised me; I thought that if it J'd and pupated in total darkness, it would be dark brown. (Click on these photos to see a larger version of the photo.)

But no matter what color the chrysalis is, this butterfly that emerges is the same species; Eastern Black Swallowtail. The inside of the chrysalis is not changed according to the color of the chrysalis. The butterfly inside is an Eastern Black Swallowtail.

I am reminded what Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth, "and to the Jews I became as a Jew .... to the weak I became weak ... I am become all things to all men". Paul knew he was free from the Old Testament law. But he obeyed these Old Testament laws when he believed it would help others. He became 'weak' to the 'weak'. He became all things to all people; but he stayed Paul, God's son. After Paul became a Christian (Read Acts 9 for the story of Paul's meeting with Jesus) no matter what he did or said, he remained a Christian.

The reason he did or didn't do these things was to win others to Jesus. He didn't count himself as important; God was all important. He didn't live to please himself, he lived to please God.

We are instructed not to offend others, however. At times we know that no matter what we do, we will offend someone. We have to make the choice of what to do, knowing that we will offend someone. It's a hard decision - knowing that our actions will offend someone. We have to stay true to what we believe is God's plan for us.

Like Paul, as long as I keep my love for God pure and my relationship with Jesus alive, I can do or not do many things without changing my true identity; a Christian.

I can eat vegatarian, eat meat, or eat carbos; I can raise butterflies, raise moths, or raise nothing. But whatever I do, the one thing that I will not let change is my very basic identity; a child of God.

1 Cor. 9:19-23

19 For though I was free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more.

20 And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, not being myself under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

21 to them that are without law, as without law, not being without law to God, but under law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law.

22 To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak: I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.

23 And I do all things for the gospel's sake, that I may be a joint partaker thereof.

'Them' and 'Us'

2008-08-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

I was asked who 'them' and 'us' are in my butterfly blog. I hadn't thought too much about how my blog could be taken by non-Christians. What are the differences between a 'Christian' and a 'non-Christian'?

'Them' and 'us' can be somewhat compared to 'butterfly people' and 'non-butterfly people'. Some live thier lives based upon butterflies while others never have a thought about butterflies!

The answer is simple but first let me share a little bit in explanation.

1. Both Christians and non-Christians 'sin' or break the law of love and obedience that God set from the beginning of man.
2. Both Christians and non-Christians offend others.
3. Both Christians and non-Christians can be kind, wonderful, helpful, and sweet.
4. Both Christians and non-Christians can be offensive and someone no one wants to be around. (Read the post about maturing.)
5. Both Christians and non-Christians are in church.
6. Both Christians and non-Christians are not in church.
7. Just because someone says he/she is a Christian doesn't mean that he/she is a Christian.

The difference is that Christians recognize that they have disobeyed God and have asked for forgiveness and help to become what God wants them to be! Christians are forgiven, not because they are 'good' but because they accepted a gift that cannot be 'earned'. Goodness will never take anyone to heaven, the home of Christians.

I know many non-Christians who are wonderful people. They always have a smile, always help others, are upbeat, and a pleasure to be around.

People often say that churches are full of hypocrites. Well, yes, churches are! But not everyone in a church is a hypocrite. Churches do contain both hypocrite non-Christians AND hypocrite Christians. They also contain non-hypocrite Christians.

Christians are NOT perfect. God isn't finished with them. He's taking them and working to help them grow into what they SHOULD be. Against God's wishes, they offend others, do, and say many things that are not attractive (to say the least). But they should be trying to grow into mature Christians. (Please read the following post about maturity.)

My personal belief and faith is that the Bible is true. According to the Bible, I needed to obtain forgiveness for my disobedience of God (sin) through accepting the gift that Jesus gave me; he took the punishment for my disobedience. I simply had to accept that gift.

Accepting that gift makes me a Christian. Christian means different things to different people. To me the word 'Christian' means that I am 'of Christ'. This does not mean that I am perfect, that I am mature, and that I don't make terrible mistakes! It means that I am a child of God, forgiven of my sins (hey, you have to sin to be forgiven of them), and I try to live in a way that would bring a smile to God's face.

Butterflies help me grow as a Christian. They have so many lessons for me.

I did want to take this opportunity to answer the question I was asked in the blog. Just in case someone else wonders what I mean by 'them' and 'us' or 'Christian' and 'non-Christian', I wanted to answer the question in the blog.

Romans 3;23-26
" 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus."

Acts 4:12 "There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved."

NOT Growing and Maturing Into Butterflies

2008-08-09T16:03:00.000-07:00

NORMALLY caterpillars gain over 2,500 times their hatchling weight before pupating into a chrysalis. What an amazing feat ... that humans do NOT want to duplicate.

They molt when their skin is too tight, crawling out of the old skin that had become too tight, turning around to eat it, then going on to grow more.

After growing and growing, they pupate into a chrysalis.

After a week or two have passed, the adult emerges to dry its wings and fly away as a mature butterfly.

But IF it has eaten growth regulator, intended to keep insects from becoming adults, it will stay a caterpillar until it dies. It grows to enormous proportions, far beyond their normal size, and finally dies.

As Christians, we are like butterflies. Caterpillars are children butterflies, chrysalises are teenager butterflies, and winged adults are simply adult butterflies. We, as Christians, grow from children to adults. Paul mentioned maturing in several of his letters.

As Christians, we can partake of growth regulator, dosed out regularly by our faithful enemy, the devil. He will feed us anything to keep us from growing into mature Christians.

Just like a caterpillar and a chrysalis is a butterfly (they are simply immature butterflies) so are immature Christians still Christians. Immature Christians are expected when they are new or young Christians. How can I be expected to be a mature Christian when I am a new Christian? As I grow in my walk with Christ, how can I be expected to be mature before I have had time to grow in Christ?

But in areas where I have had time to mature, I should mature. In the letter to the Hebrew Christians, the writer said that they needed to quit going over the same basics when they should be moving on to something other than basics. When we have repented (been so regretful for a fault or sin that we change our life so that we will not repeat the same faults or sins) we need to move forward and grow.

Jesus talked about how people allow the 'crowns and riches and treasures' to crowd out the Word of God and people do not mature. This is an issue I battle with; I find so much fun in the riches that God has given me (butterflies, cameras, and fields in which to wander) that I fail to spend as much time with God's Word as I should. This keeps me from growing. Oh, my knowledge of butterflies and moths grow, but my spiritual life doesn't grow as much as it should.

Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth about childish understanding; he told them to be innocent when it comes to evil, but to be mature in understanding the things of God. We need to be mature in God and innocent in evil. God does not intend us to become mature in evil. Many people are very mature in evil. In another letter to these Corinthian Christians, Paul shared with him that he prayed that they would mature. It was that important to Paul. I ask that those who read this blog also prays the same for me, that I would mature in Christ and God.

Paul's letters to different Churches had different tones, according to their maturity. Just as we talk to children in one way, we talk to an adult in another way. We warn a child about guns; we teach adults how to use them properly. We teach children about dressing themselves; adults don't need to hear lessons on how to dress themselves, they know how to put on socks and tie their shoes!

Christian maturity; we learn from the Bible as well as from life itself about the importance of maturing and feeding upon the 'food' that fits our level of maturity in our Christian life.

Just as there are many levels of maturity in normal life, there are many levels of maturity in a Christian. Just as a child never grows six inches overnight, so a Christian should not be expected to 'grow six inches' overnight. Maturing is a process.

We need to be patient with each other and we need to be patient with ourselves. We need to remember, both about ourselves as well as about others, that God isn't finished with any of us until we quit breathing. We ARE Christians but we are not perfect in the eyes of other people or ourselves. We are perfect in the eyes of God when we have accepted the gift Jesus gave us; he took the punishment for our failings so that we don't have to do so.

Notes:
In immature Christian is a Christian.
God never expects a new Christian to be mature.
God does expect a new Christian to grow and mature.

I Cor 14:20
Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind.

II Cor 13:9
We pray that you will become mature.

Hebrews 6:1
So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding.

I John 2:13
I am writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.

Luke 8:14
The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.

Reacting Spelled Doom For This ButterflyReacting vs Responding

2008-05-16T01:31:00.000-07:00

Red-banded Hairstreak butterflies are a favorite of mine. They are so numerous in the fall at our farm that you can pick them up by hand. It isn't unusual for one to land on me.

As I wandered with my camera photographing Red-banded Hairstreaks in the fall, I startled one of these butterflies. It immediately flew away, instinctively reacting to my movement near it.

It flew directly into the grasp of a spider. Within a split second, it was caught. I took a photo but it was not the photo that I had intended to take of that particular butterfly.

As I snapped photos of this little dying/dead butterfly, I thought about its death. If it had known that I intended no harm, that I simply intended to take its photo, it could have sat still. It would not been lunch for the spider. It simply reacted instinctively. Normally, that instinct saves its life again and again. This time, the instinct to flee cost it its life.

I find myself reacting instinctively too often. Instead of responding to a situation or a comment, I react. 'Reacting' is speaking and/or acting without thinking through the costs or benefits of an action. 'Responding' is thinking about a situation and speaking and/or acting after thinking it through. Many times we do not have time to add prayer time before responding. When time is available, praying before responding increases our ability to respond in the most appropriate manner.

This has been a hard lesson for me. Like the butterfly, reacting is instinctive and it usually takes a few hard knocks to learn the lesson to respond, not to react. Unlike the butterfly, reacting hasn't cost my life but it has cost in other ways.

I think of Peter. He had so much faith. When it came to reacting, he was a professional. [Matthew 14] Peter knew that if Jesus would ask him to walk out to him on the water, he could do it. "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water." And off he went, climbing over the edge of the boat and went toward Jesus. Evidently he went a little ways because when he took his eyes off Jesus, looked at the wind (effects of the wind) he began to sink. If he were close to the boat, he'd have turned and grabbed it. Peter could swim. [John 21] [Back to Matthew 14] When Peter started to sink, he said to Jesus, "Lord, save me." Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. I can just imagine Jesus' grin while he chided Peter, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Peter was so quick to just 'do' things without thinking and if often got him into trouble. Often his intentions were good or at least were not bad. [John 18] When Jesus was arrested, Peter cut of a man's ear trying to protect Jesus. Once again, Jesus chided Peter. I don't really imagine a grin this time, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" Peter had reacted, not thinking about what Jesus had just been telling them, that this was going to happen.

When Jesus was taken to Annas [John 18] Peter was still reacting. He denied knowing Jesus three different times. Jesus had even told him that he was going to deny him three times. Peter should have been warned and cautious. Instead, Peter was reacting again. We should remember this is the Peter that was faithful, so full of love, so concerned, that he followed Jesus when he was taken away. (He and John both had followed Jesus as he was taken away.)

Peter's later years were as full of faith as his earlier years with Jesus. As I read of Peter in the book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit, I sense a bit of slowing down in his reactions and more sense of responding to situations.

This impetuous man who was so quick to react to situations instead of respond to them was a man that God used in mighty ways. Reacting and making mistakes (even big ones) doesn't mean God can't use us. Peter was the man who was instrumental for bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles. [Acts 10] This is the man who gave a speech at Pentecost [Acts 2] and at the temple [Acts 3]. This the a man who was used by God in miraculous ways.

It is encouraging to me to read about Peter. I relate to him in some ways. Like Peter, I tend to react. It is soothing to realize that the same God who used Peter and Paul is the same God who can use me in spite of my faults.
I learned that the best way to 'respond' is with prayer and bible study. When I think the situation through, look for instances in the bible that can be applied to the situation, and pray for God's guidance, things flow much smoother.

Influences Inside and Out; Crippling and Killing

2008-01-23T20:25:00.000-08:00

Watching a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis is an amazing experience. Sometimes the butterfly emerges crippled or never emerges. After years of raising butterflies, we have learned why some of these problems happen.

There are several reasons:
1. An outside influence damages the chrysalis
a. A twig or stem is touching it as it pupates and deforms the chrysalis
b. A predator kills it before it emerges
c. Weather conditions causes it to dehydrate, cook, freeze, or drown
2. An inside influence causes problems
a. Disease cripples or kills the butterfly in the chrysalis
b. Parasitoids eat the guts of the chrysalis
c. It didn't eat enough as a caterpillar and does not have enough strength to complete its metamorphosis and emerge

In some cases, someone closely watching the caterpillar or chrysalis could save it from crippling and/or death.
1a. When the caterpillar hangs in a J, leaves and twigs around the caterpillar can be trimmed if they are too close
1b. The caterpillar or chrysalis can be covered in a sleeve to protect it from predators
1c. The chrysalis can be moved to a safe territory if weather is threatening it with unsafe butterfly conditions
2a. In nature nothing can be done; in a farm situation, eggs can be sanitized to kill disease particles
2b. A sleeve can be used to protect the caterpillar or soft chrysalis from parasitoids
2c. If the caterpillar has run out of host plant, additional plants can be brought to the caterpillar or the caterpillar taken to other host plants

As I watch these sad happenings again and again, I'm reminded of the dangers to which we are exposed as we live day to day, preparing for the time when we will emerge into eternity with God. There are negative influences on human souls also, from within and from without.

From the outside, people often damage us. Sometimes the damage is intentional; sometimes the damage is unintentional. Unlike caterpillars and chrysalises, in many instances we can choose who/what we are around.

We have God watching out for us. This doesn't mean that we won't be hurt. But God will preserve us through it. David didn't write that God kept him FROM the "valley of the shadow of death". He wrote that when he was walking "through the valley of the shadow of death" that God was WITH him.

People can't be inside us, helping us in our fight. But no matter, inside our inner beings, we are not alone with our carnal selves, our negative thoughts, and our negative motives. Jesus, our Father, and the Holy Spirit live within us.

What can help us is prayer. God is there. When I prayed in years past, I always prayed to the God in heaven, the God above. My thoughts went upward to the one who has all power and created all things. As I face things that are outside of me that threaten to cripple me spiritually, I still pray to the God above who has power to move things around me and influence things around me.
And I pray about things inside me that threaten to cripple me. Pride, judgmental attitude, and many other 'parasitoids' try to take control of my inner self.
One day I prayed a bit different. I didn't pray to the God above. I prayed to the God within me. I focused my thoughts inward, inside my very being. Not to me but to God within me.
What a difference! Although I always knew that God is inside me, it brought the realization home in a new way. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are INSIDE me where those 'parasitoids' are struggling to devour me. God is inside me working his work and protecting me. We're a 'team' inside me. I am NOT alone inside me. He is there to strengthen me in my fight and/or to fight the battle for and with me.
It's a concept that I find difficult to explain; praying to God within me. But is has been a blessing and strength for me, this 'new' direction of my prayers when I need help with what is inside me.

Think of it this way: there is a fire in a yard and someone inside a house is calling out to a person outside to put out the fire. That is the way I pray when the enemy is outside of me. When the enemy is inside of me, it is comparable to a house with the kitchen on fire and the person inside the house is asking a very capable person inside the house to put out the fire.

It's something I've always known, that God is inside me. But somehow praying with my thoughts focused on God who is dwelling inside of me instead of toward God in heaven has helped me in new ways.
Romans 8:7-11

"... the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God's Law; indeed it cannot.
8So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.
9But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His C)
10But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of righteousness [that He imputes to you].
11And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you."

Follow the Leader MothsFollow the Leader People

2007-11-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

IO Moth Automeris io caterpillars sting. Adult IO moths are soft and fuzzy, unable to hurt anything.

(Click on the photo to see a larger version.)

As caterpillars (watch out, they sting!) they followed each other to fresh food when their host plant (Hackberry Tree Celtis sp.) had been stripped of all leaves. Nose to tail, they go up and down, over and under, until a new plant has been found or they eventually starve. If the front caterpillar finds food, the followers are able to eat.

BUT when they lose their trail, they are some confused cats! Four caterpillars here have lost their trail and are circling one caterpillar sitting still on a Hackberry Tree Celtis sp. stem.

Common sense is not the most noticable attribute of these caterpillars.

I'm often like that. I blindly follow someone or some idea without thinking things through. Whether it's something I want to purchase, a place I want to go, or an attitude, I tend to follow the person I'm with at the time. Good or bad, I tend to follow.

That's what happened with the caterpillars in the last photo ... they simply blindly followed each other. Of course, that's what is happening in the middle photo too. But in the middle photo, they found food. The bottom photo shows them as they went in circles around, around, around, around ... apparantly not noticing that they weren't going anywhere.

Watching IO moths (Automeris io) remind me that I need to be careful who I follow. Even the best people in the world make mistakes! But we can follow each other's examples to a certain extent.

Luke 6: 39-40 “Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.”

There is one logical choice about who we can follow completely; the person who never made a mistake, of course, Jesus Christ.

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.”

1 Peter 2 “1 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered[k] for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
22 He never sinned,
nor ever deceived anyone.[l]
23 He did not retaliate when he was insulted,
nor threaten revenge when he suffered.
He left his case in the hands of God,
who always judges fairly.
24 He personally carried our sins
in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
and live for what is right.
By his wounds
you are healed.
25 Once you were like sheep
who wandered away.
But now you have turned to your Shepherd,
the Guardian of your souls.”

Early Morning ButterfliesThe Early Morning Woman

2007-11-28T12:55:00.000-08:00

Dewdrops glisten on roosting butterflies at daybreak. As the early morning’s rays of sun touch the sleeping butterfly, these dewdrops start to evaporate and its body warms in the sunlight. When it is dry and its body is warm, it starts to move, opens and closes its wings a few times, then opens its wings to absorb the full benefit of warm sunshine on a warm summer morning. After a while longer, it flies off to eat breakfast and enjoy another summer day.

An egg drips with dew as the caterpillar inside is forming and preparing to hatch.

A caterpillar wears dewdrops as its early morning garment, while already munching away at its breakfast.

Dewdrops on a chrysalis shimmer and sparkle, like diamonds in a new engagement ring.

I enjoy wandering in the garden at daybreak with my camera on warm summer mornings. But that is the ONLY time I enjoy being up at daybreak. Until I discovered the beauty of dewdrops on butterflies, not even M&M’s could get me up early in the morning.

I am not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination. Only butterflies, dewdrops, and my camera can coax me (with a smiling face) from my slumbers before daybreak. Any other type of ‘coaxing’ will bring me up from my slumbers, but not with a smile!

As I wander through my photograph files, looking at photographs I took early on summer mornings, I think of Proverbs 31; the ‘virtuous woman’. 'Early morning' has started to equal 'virtuous woman' in my mind.

I have never liked this lady. She sets an example that makes my skin crawl. Proverbs 31; 15 “She gets up while it is still dark”. This is the one verse I’d like to strike from the bible if I could do so.

(The full description of the virtuous woman is quoted below.)

I don’t mind all the other good things she does; but this one just hits my tender spot. I enjoy sleeping in.

Then I seriously look at this woman;
1. Good character
2. Works hard
3. Wise with finances
4. Provides food for her family and servant girls
5. She evidently works late into the night
6. She thinks of those not as fortunate as her
7. Her family and servants are adequately protected from the cold
8. She dresses very nicely
9. She is wise
10. She gives good advice
11. She is multi-talented
12. She provides income by performing several jobs
13. Her husband and children appreciate her
14. She is a hard act to follow

It’s good to have good examples. This woman is an imaginary woman who CAN be perfect. Whew. What a relief. If I imagined myself, I’d be perfect too!

I’m thankful for the living good examples in my life. My Mother stayed a woman of God, through easy times and through hard times. My sister Sandra, who in spite of the challenges of life, keeps a smile on her face and a bounce in her step. (And she rises at 4:30 in the morning.) My husband’s family’s maid, Janie, was another virtuous woman. Janie had hard times like few of us face. Her story would make a best-selling novel. No matter what, we could see Christ in her.

These women have their down times. They have their times of tears. They have my admiration and gratitude.

These show me that I can also be Christ-like. Their good qualities are encouragement to me; in spite of our human tendency to be selfish, we can be overcomers and live for others. Their mistakes remind me to keep my eyes on Christ, the only perfect example.

Proverbs 31
Sayings of King Lemuel
10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Butterfly PredatorsSoul Predators

2007-11-26T19:36:00.000-08:00

Butterflies have a fairly easy life; it is their death that is hard.

The natural death of butterflies is to be eaten alive.

From a spider to a katydid ...

... from a praying mantis to a robber fly ...

... there are hundreds of different kinds of predators just looking for lunch. Day and night they're all around, searching.

Don't we see this everywhere we go? Uh, I mean, for us as Christians!

The devil is out there at work, in the car, in stores, in movies, in magazines, in newspapers, out there EVERYWHERE searching for anyone he can devour also. He even enters our home when he can.

Butterflies don't have protection; we do. God is watching out for us. Our bodies will be lost, like the butterflies, but our souls are eternally protected.

We can see in ways butterflies cannot see. We can determine from where our spiritual attacks come. We have each other to help watch and protect us. Most of all, we have God that protects our souls. The only reason we need fear is if we do not watch out and let the devil take us.

I Peter 5:8-9 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

Mark 14:38 "Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Butterfly Metamorphosis;People Metamorphosis

2007-11-23T18:02:00.000-08:00

One of the first lessons we teach at our butterfly farm is the miracle of metamorphosis. A caterpillar, commonly called a worm, is the same animal as the adult butterfly. A chrysalis is the same animal as the caterpillar and the adult butterfly.

As we do presentations, we show photos of an egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult butterfly. We ask, “Which is a butterfly?” Of course, the answer is, "The one with wings is the butterfly".

“Hmmm,” we respond, “so a child is not a person and a teenager is not a person?” At that point we become the object of many a perplexed gaze. We explain that a caterpillar is a ‘child’ butterfly. A chrysalis is a ‘teenager’ butterfly (although it doesn’t make noise, eat us out of house and home, hog the phone or computer, or be bossy to younger siblings like many a teenager human).

Butterflies undergo a complete metamorphosis. Each stage of life appears as if it were a totally different animal. It is a complete transformation.

Metamorphosis is a good representation of our transformation from our old person to a new person in Christ. We’re quite comfortable as a caterpillar. We know who we are even when things are not quite the way we’d like them to be.

The caterpillar must cease from being a caterpillar. It has to become something totally different, in many ways, from what it is. This process is called ‘pupation’.

First, a caterpillar literally loses its skin, legs, and ‘head’ to become a chrysalis.

We do the same thing to become a Christian; our old legs/arms took us places and did things that our new person in Christ should not go/do.

A caterpillar can ‘see’ light and darkness with its eyes. (These three dark spots on the side of its head are some of its eyes.)

Our old eyes were un-Christ-like; looking at things with envy, staring with hatred, and other things eyes should not do.

A caterpillar loses its mouth to become a chrysalis.

A caterpillar eats and is known to cannibalize other caterpillars and even chrysalises.

We were known to say things we shouldn’t before we became Christians.

A chrysalis seems to be doing nothing. But inside, it is changing completely. New legs, head, mouth, and wings are being formed.

The process is quick for a caterpillar. It takes three minutes for a caterpillar to become a chrysalis. A chrysalis may take from five days to nine months to become an adult butterfly.

Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth, “are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory”. Ever-increasing; our change isn’t so quick.

We take a long time to change and in the changing, we still say and do things we shouldn’t. How we wish it could be a quick change like it is for a butterfly, we’d drop all the carnal parts of us that are so painful to God, our loved ones, other people in general, and ourselves.

Then the adult butterfly finally emerges; able to do things very different from a caterpillar.

A Christian emerges and is very different than the earlier version of him/herself.

A butterfly is able to soar far above the ground. It is a totally new being - yet is the same being that hatched from an egg.

A Christian is a mix of a chrysalis and an adult butterfly. We’re still forming. God isn’t finished with us yet.

Our final version will be quite different than even the ‘best’ Christian on earth. The final version of a Christian is one with a new body, spending eternity with Christ. No longer will we do and say things we shouldn’t; things that bring tears to God’s eyes. We won’t say and do things that bring tears to the eyes of our loved ones.

Romans 12:2
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

2 Corinthians 3:18
“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect [Or contemplate] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Philippians 3:21
“Who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

Caterpillars; Socialize or Fight? Christians; Fellowship or Fight?

2007-11-22T15:16:00.000-08:00

IO Moth caterpillars Automeris io socialize; they tend to stay in a group the first week or two of life. Gold Rim (Polydamas) Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars Battus polydamas behave the same way. Several species of butterflies and moths stay together.

Then there are the Spicebush Swallowtail Papilio troilus and Palamedes Swallowtail Papilio palamedes butterfly caterpillars. Wow! While working at our butterfly farm a couple of years ago, I watched these caterpillars behaving in a very different manner. When more than one caterpillar climbed onto the same leaf, they were not happy to be together. Quite often one caterpillar would force its head underneath the side of another caterpillar, lift sharply, and simply flip the other caterpillar off the leaf onto the ground! After watching this happen dozens of times, I started naturally calling them my 'little bulldozers'. The rascals.

These two species of swallowtail caterpillars remind me of how we, as Christians, often 'work together’. We tend to fight each other rather than fight our true enemy. We become sidetracked and focus on little things that we differ upon rather than focus on Jesus, the big 'thing' we agree upon.

For example:

Christians find themselves gossiping, sometimes excusing their gossip as ‘prayer requests’. “We need to add so-and- so to our prayer list because he/she is blah blah blah.” Instead, we should simply pray for them and, when possible, to help them.

Christians tell other Christians that they vote for the wrong party rather than spending time encouraging each other to pray for wisdom and for our government officials and to vote after praying to God for this wisdom.

Christians criticize fellow Christians … we aren’t as near as faithful about praying for them as we are about sharing ‘prayer requests’ (gossip) and (with the wrong attitude) ‘teaching or instructing’ them.

We should be praying for them and reaching out to help instead! Some things are better not added to prayer lists in detail.

Praying brings a double benefit; first, we’re talking with God AND bringing to our attention the one who needs help. It brings the person we’re paying for to our attention and as a result we often think of ways we can help them.

So how do I recognize these and other ways Christians fight each other instead of our enemies? I’ve heard myself say and do the very things that I would expect from an enemy; rather than from one who is supposed to be standing firmly by the side of a fellow Christian.

We don't do these things intentionally or to cause problems for our brothers and sisters. We do them without realizing the damage we can cause. We don't realize that we are allowing Satan to use us as his tool when we speak against our brothers and sisters. We can pray for them and help them, we can disagree in a positive method; we only need to stop and think before speaking.

I, as a Christian, should spend my energy fighting our true enemy rather than causing problems (unintentionally or intentionally) for others. I should be fighting the ‘powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil’instead!

Too many battles and too much persecution are caused by fellow Christians rather than by the enemy, Satan.

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Butterflies, rattlesnakes, and Jesus

2007-11-21T17:58:00.000-08:00

I was out taking photos of Gulf Fritillary caterpillars. This area in the pine woods was sunny without much shade. The trees weren’t full at the top, letting in a great deal of sunlight. Gulf Fritillary butterflies lay eggs on passionvine in the sun and the area was full of passionvine and blackberry briers.

Now I see several poisonous snakes every year as I wander through the fields and woods taking photos of butterflies, caterpillars, plants, and more …

… but this one, it was a rattlesnake. It was BIG! Well, at least it sure seemed big. Now that I’m not toe to fang with it, I can say that although it was a chunky one, it was only about three feet long.

I wondered as I backed slowly away from this particular rattlesnake; what would happen if I died while photographing butterflies in the woods and fields? Some places where I wander are a mile from a gate; dirt roads without houses in the area. I sometimes wander in and out of brush and briars for hours on end (and I will never admit to being lost but it does take me an hour every now and then to find my bearings). Suppose something did happen to me and I wasn’t able to get out in time?

Immediately the thought came to me, I know what people would say; 1) “I knew she shouldn’t be out there alone” and 2) “She died doing what she loved to do”.

I was thinking about Jesus and how he died. He died doing what he loved to do, so to speak. He wasn't enthuastic about dying on the cross, that isn't what I mean. He prayed that if the Father was willing, that the Father would "take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done". No, dying on a cross was not his ideal way to spend the last day of his last week.

The Pharisees were very judgmental, looking down upon him because he spent time with ‘sinners’. He spent time with his closest friends, of course, but that wasn’t his primary purpose here on earth. Spending time with ‘sinners’? Yes, this was what Jesus did – spend his time with those who needed him. Sadly, not all ‘sinners’ accepted his words. He was not able to save them all but he did save many.

He spent much of his time doing the same thing he was doing when he died.

I thought of how Jesus died. He died as he lived, among ‘sinners’. Literally, he died between ‘sinners’; two criminals. And just as earlier, when his feet were on the ground for 33 1/2 years, he wasn’t able to save both; but he did save one of the criminals in his last hours.

Too many people blame themselves for not reaching the hearts (for God) of every person they love or care about. Their family, friends, children, parents, siblings, spouse, co-workers; they cannot turn their friends and family to accept the gift of salvation. They become depressed and hold themselves personally responsible.

But Jesus himself didn’t reach everyone’s heart. If Jesus couldn’t, how can we expect ourselves to do so?

We need to simply do the best we can, be joyful, and let go of self-blame. Unjustified self-blame is a tool of Satan. How he loves to weigh us down with this burden so that we can’t do near as much for God as we’d like. If we’re bogged down in unjustified self-blame, how can we shine and reach out with joy and love?

Now I’m not ready to die from a rattlesnake bite out a mile from anywhere and if it's God will, I'd rather not die that way at all.

But I am ready to learn from Jesus; don’t blame myself for not helping everyone. But I don't need to use that as an excuse not to try to help others either!

I need only to do my best and let God take care of all the rest.

Luke 22:42
"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."

Mark 2
15While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
17On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Luke 23
32Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."[e] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."
36The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
38There was a written notice above him, which read:|sc THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
40But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
42Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[f]"
43Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Butterflies accidentally poison themselves and die! Do we do the same thing?

2007-11-21T08:29:00.000-08:00

Butterfly caterpillars can only eat specific plants and each species of butterfly has it own specific plant or family of plants they can eat. For example; Monarch caterpillars can eat only milkweed. Cloudless Sulphur caterpillars eat Cassia (Senna) plants. A female butterfly instinctively knows upon which host plants to lay their eggs.

But sometimes “Mom” butterflies get a bit confused!

Long-tailed Skipper butterfly caterpillars are a favorite of our grandchildren. The caterpillars cut leaves and fold these leaves over themselves to make a home. Like Hansel and Gretel, they often eventually eat the walls of their ‘home’.

Blue Pea Vine is a favorite of Long-tailed Skippers. It isn’t unusual to see stacks, clumps, or towers of eggs on the tender growth of this vine. The caterpillars hatch, start cutting and folding leaves, grow, a few weeks later pupate into a chrysalis, and a week or two later emerge as an adult butterfly.

Wooly pipevine (Asclepias tomentosa) is a host plant for Pipevine Swallowtails. Long-tailed Skipper females will often lay eggs upon Wooly Pipevine although it is deadly to their caterpillars. The caterpillars hatch, start eating this pipevine, and die.

I was surprised and asked Dr. Thomas Emmel, of the University of Florida, about Long-tailed Skippers eating pipevine. He said it has been noted that in some instances, Long-tailed Skippers will lay their eggs on Wooly Pipevine.

Once small caterpillars have eaten the proper host plant, they will not eat host plants that poison them. Sadly, because the eggs were laid on their the wrong plant, they started eating the wrong food and it killed them.

Watching these caterpillars reminds me of the things we wish we had taught our children when they were growing up, such as financial responsibility! If we had taught them young, most likely they would have held to their early teaching and avoided other 'food' (bad spending habits) that could be detrimental to them. But we didn't show as much financial responsibility as we should have and more is learned by example than by words. Hey, when things were looking bad financially, we always consoled ourselves by eating out (with five children) which only added to the problem.

So many bad habits (and even habits that are deadly to children) are taught by parents. I'm thankful for the good habits my parents taught me and for a Christian upbringing. I learned from my parents to feed on the right 'food' and avoid 'poisons'. Not that I didn't mess up from time to time. But their teaching saved me many heartaches.

What we feed upon is what we grow on! Or what we don't grow on ... when a female butterfly lays eggs on or near the right plant, the caterpillars will eat the right food. As parents, we humans have a great responsibility, just as 'Mom' butterfly has a great responsibility.

Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Proverbs 22:6 "Train [a] a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Ephesians 6:4 "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord."

Long-tailed Skipper 'Cleanliness is Next to Godliness'

2007-11-20T19:07:00.000-08:00

While watching a Long-tailed Skipper Urbanus proteus butterfly caterpillar wander along a green bean stem, I watched it go into its folded leaf ‘home’, pick up a piece of frass, go to the edge of the leaf and drop it off onto the ground. (Frass is the scientific word for caterpillar poop.)

Nature quite often has a way of cleaning up after itself.

I am reminded of how often we hear, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. I am 52, grew up reading the bible, yet never read such a verse. This relieves me as I am not known as the world’s best housekeeper. I’m not the worst but I might give some of them a run for their money!

But as much as I’d like to pretend that it’s OK for me to not do housekeeping, mow the lawn, hang up the clothes, wash dishes, and other household chores, I can’t ignore the fact that I am to be a steward of what God has given me! I am getting better ...

A study of the word 'clean' in the bible indicates how important cleanliness of our hearts and minds is to God. The pharasiees were concerned about outward cleanliness while Jesus taught that if the inside was clean, the outside would become clean.

Matthew 23;26 "Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Tattered Butterflies and Tattered People

2007-11-17T21:24:00.000-08:00

Butterflies with tattered wings are a normal everyday part of life. I used to look at them and dismiss them as 'not beautiful'. Now when I see them, I appreciate tattered broken butterflies more than freshly emerged perfect butterflies.

The Viceroy butterfly above is missing matching bits of its hind wings. Obviously it had been sitting with wings folded over its back, resting. But something intended for it to be lunch. When the predator grabbed it, its wings broke and it flew away. If its wings had not broken it would no longer exist. It would have been lunch.

This Gulf Fritillary butterfly is simply tattered from living life. I noticed it flying in the garden and snapped a few photos to record its triumphs in life. With a great deal of its wings missing, it was still flying about and living a good life. It drank nectar from several species of flowers before flying away to another area of the garden.

Sharon Maiden is a wonderful woman that I'm honored to be able to call my friend. She always brightens my days with her letters. No matter how hard my day has been, her letters leave me laughing. In one recent letter she wrote, "I am on my knees, and that ain't so easy anymore, the floor is way to far down for me these days." Laughing, I knew that she has victory over life's challenges. Although life and age has its toll, it also has its triumphs. I hope I can develop the outlook I see in her letters. No matter what happens, she is upbeat and funny, leaving her friends laughing and thankful for her like Paul was thankful for the Philippians.

I enjoy listening to people who share their life's ups and downs. Oh, they are missing wing parts too! Scales are missing; sometimes their 'color' is a bit drab. Sometimes large 'wing bits' are missing. But they are 'flying' in spirit if not in body. The more they are tattered, the more true beauty shines through them.

From health problems to relationship challenges, job cuts to loss of loved ones, we all change as we live from day to day. For some of us, these changes start at birth. Others have protected lives and the changes come later in life.

The 'tatter' we see in each other are often badges of triumph. Perhaps some of the tatters were our own fault. We made bad choices, but when we come out of them 'flying', we are triumphant.

I have a friend who lost his leg at the age of eight. Using crutches for over 40 years, he has done everything a man with two legs could do, except wear two shoes. And unlike many of us with two legs, he always has a smile and positive outlook on life. Bumping into him always leaves one with a smile and a bit more energy in one's step.

I hope and pray that even with my tatters, that I will live my life from now on so that those who think of me will give thanks to God as I thank God for people in my life like Sharon.

Philippians 1:3 "Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God."

Ants, Hell, and the Lake of Fire

2007-11-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

Ants.

I see enough of those critters every day. In this photo, ants are carrying away Painted Lady butterfly Vanessa cardui eggs for lunch.

I watch them carry away butterfly eggs, eat living caterpillars, chrysalises, and adult butterflies, and have pulled my screaming young grandsons out of antbeds and wiped off hundreds of these stinging insects from their feet and legs as well as my children's legs when they were young.

I've felt the burning pain of their stings.

Burning pain. We think of burning with thoughts of torture. We think of hell with thoughts of burning pain.

This turns my mind to paintings, stories, movies, tv shows, comic books, books, and sermons which include hell. In many of these, Satan is presented and/or shown as the king of hell, torturing people who are under his whip and the whips of his henchmen.

Let's rethink this; God didn't prepare hell and the lake of fire for Satan as Satan's kingdom. He will not reign there, continuing to torment humans. That would be heaven for Satan. That's his passion, his joy, his love; tormenting humans.

God prepared the eternal fire, into which death and hades are thrown, for Satan. It is his punishment, not a reward.

What a blessing, with such depth that we cannot appreciate it, is the fact that Jesus took the punishment for our sins so that we can spend eternity with him and God. For those who accept Jesus as thier saviour and Lord, there will be an eternity with no death, no mouring, no crying, and no pain. God himself will wipe away our tears. God himself will live with us.

Revelation 21;3-4 "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Matthew 25;41 "... 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels'."

Revelation 20;10 "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. "

~ Edith

Butterfly Parasitoids and Human Parasitiods

2007-11-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

Parasitioids devour butterfly and moth eggs, caterpillars, and/or chrysalises from the inside out.

This chalcid wasp is interested in a soft White Peacock butterfly Anartia jatrophae chrysalis.

The parasitoid lays eggs in or on an egg, caterpillar, or chrysalis. These eggs hatch and the resulting parasitoid larvae eat the guts of the butterfly (or moth) egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, or adult. The parasitoid (depending upon which one) changes into a pupa and emerges as a maggot or adult from the butterfly egg, caterpillar, or chrysalis. The butterfly inside no longer exists.

There are many parasitoids. For example; trichogramma wasps eat the guts of eggs (these are emerging from a Giant Swallowtail egg Papilio cresphontes,

tachinid flies

and chalcid wasps eat the guts of chrysalises.

This yellow chalcid wasp emerged from a Cloudless Sulphur chrysalis Phoebis sennae. It looks like a Conura amoena. As soon as they emerge as adults, these parasitiods seek other butterflies and moths to infect to continue their lifecycle.

My mind meandered while I was photographing some of these little critters, making webpages for them, and creating presentations for churches.

I realized there are parasitoids for humans. There are things that eat us up from the inside out.

I couldn't help but think of a couple of bible verses as my mind started identifying human parasitoids.

A partial list of human parasitoids: envy, pride, slanderous tongue, deceit, greed, strife, backbiting, malice, boastful, sewing discord, fits of rage, and selfish ambition. (Verses are listed below with a more complete list of human parasitoids.)

I had to look inside myself to identify which of these are working to kill the Spirit within me. Some of these parasitoids have never entered me at all. Others work full time as I learn to identify them and to remove them from inside me.

When I see parasitiods they remind me to examine myself and pray for God's help. God can show me which parasitoids are doing their work inside me.

They don't stop in me; as these things radiate from me, they try to infect other humans.

I need to remove the parasitoids that infect me for the sake of others and for myself.

~ Edith

NIV Bible Verses about 'Human Parasitoids'

Mark 7: 2-23 "He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "

Romans 1: 29-31 "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

Galations 5; 19-21 "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Meandering Thoughts

2007-11-11T11:51:00.000-08:00

Raising God's butterflies is my hobby and my job; I own and operate a butterfly farm with my husband, Stephen.

I marvel at this creation of God's; butterflies. From egg through adult, these creatures are fantastic. The miracle of metamorphosis is just one of the fantastic wonders of butterflies and of moths.

A Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon) drinking nectar from Lemon Mairgold is pictured above.

As I go throughout my life, day after day, week after week, I often see things with butterflies that I relate to my life as a Christian. Sometimes my mind wanders as I do my work; into topics that do not relate to butterflies.

This blog will be a means for me to write my thoughts easily, in a place where I cannot lose them. If anyone happens upon this blog, I hope you enjoy reading my meandering thoughts.

~ Edith