In mid-April, several of the walkways at San Pasqual High School were overrun with Mourning Cloak caterpillars.
Due to the early bursts of summer in the spring months, the caterpillars began to emerge from Chinese Elm and Willow trees, claims Ms. Laurs from the World Language department. The Cloudless Sulfur butterflies, or Saffron butterflies, as they were referred to in an interview with Ms. Laurs and Mrs. Van Der Linden, also made an early appearance on the Popcorn Cassia flower plant.
In my journey to capture the butterflies’ voyage to the buildings on camera, I witnessed the untimely deaths of many caterpillars as a result of careless feet stomping across campus – so this is your friendly reminder to watch where you walk.
Mourning Cloaks typically live about a year, though Ms. Laurs added, “…Mourning Cloaks are interesting because… as cocoons, they can go into torpor, kind of frozen in time for… a few years.” The metamorphosis period for Mourning Cloaks lasts about two weeks. It’s not certain if the caterpillars will make another appearance this time next year.
These caterpillars can teach us an important lesson. “The cool thing about the… impact on students,” states Ms. Laurs, “is that when you slow down, you pay attention to nature, you notice something amazing…”
