Spreading Wings and the Word: Sisters Share Their Passion for Butterflies
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By Emily Bontrager
For sisters Connie Gutting and Kathy Smith of Kahoka, Missouri, raising Monarch butterflies is more than a hobby, it’s a passion that has filled their homes, their summers, and their hearts.
Their journey began in 2021 when Kathy discovered milkweed in her garden and spotted a few caterpillars munching on the leaves.
“I found the caterpillars there and my dad told me it was a Monarch caterpillar,” Kathy said. “I didn’t really know anything about them then. I started researching it online and I bought cages and I started getting eggs and everything.”
Soon after, Connie joined her, and together the sisters dove into the process of collecting eggs, raising caterpillars, and watching the incredible transformation unfold.
Monarchs lay their tiny eggs, no bigger than a pinhead, on the underside of milkweed leaves. After hatching, the caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed, which provides the nutrients they need to grow.
Once hatched, the caterpillars grow quickly, molting and shedding their skin five times. When they reach full size, they hang upside down in a “J” shape.
“Then all of a sudden, the head splits open and the green comes out and they form the chrysalis,” Connie explained.
Over the next 8 to 14 days, the butterfly develops inside the chrysalis until it emerges, its wings slowly pumping full of life. From egg to butterfly, the entire process takes about a month.
The sisters usually start collecting eggs in July and stop when frost arrives in the fall. They make sure to have plenty of milkweed on hand to feed the hungry caterpillars. Once the butterflies emerge, they are released into the wild. Although Connie had a butterfly this year with deformed wings that cannot fly, most grow strong and healthy.
Their love for Monarchs also has deep family roots. Connie and Kathy’s father was the first in their family to take an interest in butterflies when they were children. He even had one special butterfly he named Beatrice.
In addition to raising butterflies at home, Gutting and Smith also share their experience with others. Recently, they brought their butterflies to Scotland County school, where students were able to see the creatures up close.
“We put the Gospel message with it,” Connie said. “I have also gone to St. Louis to my granddaughter’s school.”
Connie and Kathy tie in the “J” shape of the caterpillar before it becomes a chrysalis as the “J” for Jesus. They also use the transformation as a way to share the message of faith.
Over the years, the sisters have hatched and released hundreds of Monarchs.
“We are happy we are saving so many of them,” Kathy said.
Kathy usually keeps count, naming each one. So far this year, she has released 57 Monarch butterflies.
“The first year I did it, I had over 200 of them,” Kathy said.
The sisters both marvel at the beauty of God’s creation and how a small egg can turn into something so extraordinary.
“I’m just so excited to tell the story about Jesus,” Connie said. “And God’s creation and how each thing is so unique, that’s what I get excited about.”
For both sisters, raising Monarchs is about wonder, beauty, and preservation.
“I don’t want butterflies to go away,” Kathy said. “I love butterflies and they are so beautiful. They are one of God’s creatures and are proof there is a God.”
Related Posts
