Butterflies are Free
Raising monarch butterflies can be a very spiritual experience

Throughout history the butterfly has been a symbol of love, peace, harmony and beauty. Today, people of all walks of life celebrate with the release of butterflies at weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and other special events.

The releasing of monarch butterflies at Forest Park High School in Prince William County, late September, was a special event for its AP Biology class, said teacher Netia Elam.

“Butterflies by themselves are very spiritual,” said Elam. “The monarch is the only butterfly to migrate such a long distance. It was really exciting for the students. It was actually a very moving experience.”

The butterflies will travel to Mexico where in the Aztec and Mayan days, the colorful Monarch masses were believed to be the spirits of the deceased. The Aztecs felt the monarch butterflies were the incarnation of their fallen warriors. The vibrant fiery orange and steely black were considered to be the colors of battle.

During the Forest Park project, students were allowed to name their butterflies after someone close to them who had passed away, said Elam. Then they were taught how to care for the insects. “At first the students were nervous,” she said. “They were afraid they would hurt them. After awhile they knew how to feed them and if one got loose they knew how to catch them. They became very confident.”

While monarch butterfly projects are generally geared toward elementary classes, the AP students were able to take it to a higher level. “They are gentle enough to be able to unroll the proboscis (the tubular feeding and sucking organ on the insect) to feed the butterflies,” said Elam. “They can do more advanced work.”

The AP students monitored the caterpillars’ progress and “learned how monarchs exhibit co-evolution in order to be able to eat poisonous milkweed” which is their only food source, she said. After the caterpillars emerged from their chrysalis, they were fed everyday by unrolling the proboscis into a sugar substance.

The students also tagged about thirty butterflies before they were released, enabling Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas track and study the insect. “It’s a hit or miss with the tagging,” said Elam. “It’s mostly for the Monarch Watch.”

Many of the monarchs nationwide won’t make it, but the dead ones will be found by researchers so that information can be collected.

Elam began the project at home after a summer training seminar. She has hopes to start a butterfly garden next year that will help students and butterflies for years to come. The teacher said raising monarchs is a great project for anyone. “People can do this very easily,” she said. “The milkweed flowers will have eggs.”

Because milkweed is the only food source for the monarch, so if you have the weed, you will have the butterflies. Although the weed is not as common in the area as it use to be, seeds can be bought online. For more information check out www.monarchwatch.org.

– L.A. Eaton
Staff