What is the “Monarch Transformation?”
How the Transformation of a Monarch Butterfly Relates to Us.
What is the “Monarch Transformation?” Much like us actually, in a sense that they are on a journey just like we are, a journey in becoming a new creation, how to live their life in the healthiest, safest, manner, and how they go from a brand new caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly. We are the exact same way. Let me explain a little bit further…
First of all, monarch butterflies have become almost a rare species due to high pesticide usage on their host plats. So I have taken up a recent interest of raising monarch butterflies. We raised about 100 monarchs last summer, 2014. It’s life cycle was so fascinating to me that I just can’t stop saving them, they’re too precious!
So a little bit of background on the life cycle of a monarch:
The female butterfly lays eggs underneath the leaves of the host plant, the milkweed, which must be pesticide free for the tiny baby caterpillars to survive.
Once the eggs are laid, they usually take 3-5 days to hatch. The baby then eats its way out of the egg, turns around and munches on the remaining egg in its entirety, and then goes to find a place on the milkweed plant to chill, eat, and roam. If the milkweed is pesticide free, the caterpillar will not be poisoned. If it is a poisoned plant, then the caterpillar will not survive.
However, these monarch caterpillars have many predators, the tachinid fly as the biggest predator, that actually inject their eggs into the baby monarch caterpillar, and then the fly larvae feed on the baby caterpillar from the inside out. This is why if you’re raising them for conservation, you want to bring them inside, which we have an indoor setup to do so, so that they can survive through the pupa stage and then migrate later on to Mexico once it’s a butterfly.
But it’s really neat to watch the baby “cats,” as we call them, eat and grow, and sleep…they literally grow almost twice it’s size each and every day. They start off as little tiny gray worms…lol…and each day their pretty yellow, black, and white stripes start to appear more vibrant.
So after about 2 weeks of eating and sleeping, these monarch cats start to roam really fast, crawling up our indoor cage and finally resting at the top of the cage upside down to make a silk pad for it to start the pupa stage. It spins a silk button for it to hang upside down in a “J.” About 12 hours later, it will then start to shed it’s last bit of skin, revealing it’s fresh green chrysalis that will stay pretty and green for about 2 weeks without moving.
After those 2 weeks pass, here is where the magic happens…the chrysalis starts to turn dark, and you can even see the color of the beautiful orange and black wings start to show through. Now it’s just hours until that chrysalis turns into a beautiful monarch butterfly.
The morning of this transformation, the chrysalis turns completely transparent, and all you see is orange and black gorgeousness. It literally takes seconds for this magic to happen so you won’t want to miss this!
But the outcome is so beautiful, all that hard work of eating, turning into a chrysalis, going without eating in pupa stage for about 2 weeks, has finally paid off.
After about drying its wings for approximately 4 hours, it will then be ready to take flight and start the entire cycle again.
So what’s my point with all this? Well, each person starts their own journey somewhere. They are most likely new to fitness so they’re a “baby cat” in this case. As you continue with your journey, you get bigger, and stronger, you build stamina, you lose weight, you gain energy, you start feeling better about yourself, just like the monarch caterpillar. Your body is changing, just like the caterpillar changes every day. You’re doing great, you have just a few more pounds to go, and….you’re stuck….just like when the caterpillar goes up to J and pupate into a chrysalis, it’s stuck for a couple weeks. You plateau, the caterpillar “plateaus” in a sense. So you have to figure out how to break that plateau, which usually means switching up things a bit. And once that plateau is broken, you are back to progression with the final goal ultimately met. You have turned into a beautiful monarch, an amazing transformation!! You just went from a baby caterpillar to an amazing, strong, gorgeous butterfly who can do anything possible! After all, with God, all things are possible. Matthew 19:26.
So let’s begin YOUR monarch transformation! Don’t start tomorrow, don’t start next week, start RIGHT NOW. It takes work, but if you’re willing to put in the work, the outcome will be so amazing, and you will be able to create that lifestyle change that you’ve always wanted.
You don’t have to do this alone either. If you’re unsure of where to start, then we definitely need to connect so we can brainstorm together. With the proper support and accountability, a small group of ladies on the same page, and proper nutrition, you’re already halfway there. As we work together, maintaining close contact via email and phone, and providing one on one mentorship as a friend, a spiritual leader, and a coach, your goals can be achieved.
I can’t wait to meet you and talk with you, discover your goals, and learn all about who you are. 🙂 You and your life are important to me. So let’s go make your “Monarch Transformation” a reality!
