A Mystery Story (1981)

[Music] Oh. Oh. Butterflies, star performers in nature's mysterious reappearing act. Almost like magic, they show up in large numbers for an exclusive summer engagement in your garden. But where did they come from? Ever wonder? In the case of the annis swallowtail, we have a clue in its name. It's called the anis swallowtail because it usually lays its eggs on the wild anis plant. These eggs are so small it takes a magnifying glass for you and me to even see what they look like. If you want to compare, they're actually smaller than the head of a pin. It takes about 2 weeks for the egg to hatch and then we have a beautiful butterfly, right? Well, not yet. At this stage, the swallow tail's main problem is trying to grow a body to match the size of its head. Obviously, our butterfly is just a baby. And like most babies, it's born hungry. Often, the first thing to go is the empty eggshell, but this is just an appetizer. The main course is the leaf of the annis plant on which it was born. The growth of a young caterpillar is amazing. Just a few days makes a lot of difference. [Music] Two or three more weeks and he continues to change from this to this. A regulation full-sized caterpillar. What a difference. And all because of an enormous appetite. [Music] A caterpillar is almost all stomach, and keeping that stomach full seems to be its only purpose in life. Ever find yourself eating like a caterpillar? It doesn't do much for your garden, but the caterpillar does have a good reason for the appetite. You see, he has to store up as much food as possible for something big that will happen to him in the next stage of his life. That is, if he lives that long. So, while he's in this form, he needs protection from birds and other hungry creatures. How does he do it? Well, he's not very fast. Certainly not ferocious, but the creator did provide an effective defense mechanism. Simple, but it really works. Whenever danger comes near, the caterpillar shoots out a couple of orange gadgets that fill the air with a strong odor. So strong, in fact, it has earned the creature the nickname skunk of the insect world. [Music] As a caterpillar, he pulls himself along by eight pairs of legs. The first three pairs are jointed. The others are just temporary and will soon be lost. After several weeks of stuffing himself, the caterpillar is ready for that big event we were talking about. [Music] The spinning of a silken loop is an important preparation. Here again we see how the creator provides for living things. Unknown to the caterpillar. In just a few days this simple looking cord will become his life belt. Once finished, the caterpillar performs a neat bit of gymnastics and ducks his head through the loop. He adjusts his life belt one last time and then hangs quietly for several days. It may look like he's given up, but this is just a rest period before something else mysterious happens. First, his extra legs disappear. Then, the caterpillar begins to twist and turn. Finally, the skin splits open. And what's this? It's not a butterfly. Doesn't even look like a caterpillar. Actually, what you see is called a chrysalis. Sort of a dressing room a caterpillar uses while changing into an adult butterfly. As the old skin is shaken off, we have a moment to think about the change. The change from caterpillar to chrysalis. How does he manage it? He's never done it before. He's never even seen another caterpillar do it. And yet, he does exactly the right thing at the right time. How? Well, we could say that it's just an accident, but obviously it's much more than that. Each and every step has been carefully planned so that many caterpillars will be able to survive from one stage of life to the next. The way these colors blend into the background isn't by chance either. It's deliberate camouflage, part of the survival system. The caterpillars forming these chrysalids are all of the same type, the anis swallow tail. They all ate the same food, lived under identical conditions, except for one difference. They were placed on different colored sticks just before entering the chrysalis stage. At first, an emerging chrysalis may not bear any resemblance to its environment. Yet almost immediately there's a color change that matches perfectly with the surroundings. This camouflage is the only protection the insect has during the two weeks it hangs quietly waiting for its day of freedom. When that day finally arrives, there's a few moments of jerking and twisting again. And then a butterfly. Tiny tubes within the wings are being filled, some with blood, some with air, some with a special liquid that will soon cement, giving rigidity and strength to the butterflyy's wings. So, there you have it. You've gone behind the scenes to solve one of nature's most beautiful mysteries. You've seen what happens when the creator's plan is followed every step of the way without fail. And now ask yourself, what can we learn about ourselves from the butterfly? Does God have a plan for us? [Music]