Metamorphosis, Chaos, and The Butterfly Funeral
I first met chaos the day after my grandfather’s funeral. It was quiet like the dead. That is the case for funeral day-afters. The wailing, the goodbyes, and the crowd slowly transition to silent memories, regrets, and sobs. I was sitting on the porch and gazing at the sky. It was a summer evening, so the sky was bright in the summer sun. Suddenly, I noticed the black clouds entering. Soon the world became dark, and it started raining.
I love when it rains in the summer. The sudden change from the light to the dark theme sets me off on a wild thought ride. I started thinking about life, death, and the whole meaning of our existence. Then, out of nowhere, an old memory surfaced: the butterfly funeral.
I was nine and playing with my brothers when I found a struggling butterfly on the ground. We tried to help it fly, but it was a no-go task. So, we stayed there and waited for it to die. It stopped moving after about an hour. We made a tiny coffin out of jackfruit leaves, carefully placed it inside, said a few prayers, and buried it in our backyard. It was oddly beautiful, a tiny ceremony for a tiny life.
Then, I couldn’t help but wonder why a creature that lives for a maximum of 30 days undergoes such a beautifully elaborate life cycle. Butterflies aren’t your everyday critters that simply hatch and carry on, like spiders or lizards. They undergo complete metamorphosis, where the young and the old are worlds apart in appearance and habits.
A butterfly’s life cycle consists of four distinct stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult butterfly. Each stage is marked by dramatic changes in form and function, pointing to nature’s underlying chaos.
Egg Stage: It begins with a delicate egg laid with precision on the perfect host plant. This speck holds the potential for something extraordinary.
Caterpillar Stage: From the egg hatches a caterpillar—a little eating machine that eats leaves with an insatiable appetite. It’s a phase of relentless growth, shedding its skin multiple times as it expands.
Pupa (Chrysalis) Stage: The caterpillar enters the pupa stage, forming a chrysalis around itself. Inside this seemingly dormant stage, the caterpillar’s body breaks down into a soup of cells, which then reorganises into the complex structures of an adult butterfly.
Adult Butterfly Stage: Finally, the adult butterfly emerges, a stunning creature with wings designed for flight and a proboscis for feeding on nectar. This stage is brief but essential for the reproduction and continuation of the species.
This metamorphosis has chaos theory written all over it. According to chaos theory, even a small change in the initial conditions can lead to vastly different outcomes, a phenomenon unrelatedly known as the butterfly effect. In the life of a butterfly, minute variations in its environment, genetics, or diet can change the adult that emerges. This lifecycle is a powerful metaphor for change and rebirth. How change is an important thing for life to have beauty.
Well, I didn’t know chaos theory was at play in the lifecycle of a butterfly on that summer day. But I was undeniably swept away by thoughts on butterflies, life, death, and existence. Thoughts that were too intense even for me. In a desperate bid to escape my darker thoughts, I reached for a book. I chose The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Little did I know that moment would alter the course of my life.