Monday, June 8, 2009

Fledgling

















By the time this ladybug had emerged from her pupa, nearly colorless, it's possible that both her parents had perished. She is fostered by the sun which ripens her color and develops her singular pattern of spots. Inflated by the liquids in her body, supported by the upward thrusting things under her feet, she will soon initiate her talent with air, a product of work completed long ago, her jewel and inheritance. Maybe when she does, all like things will smile in some way.

Ok, insert Rilke quote here, and Voila!

2 comments:

Matthew said...

Wowza. Spotless at birth, sort of a religious thing, eh? This was a home experiment?

amarilla said...

Yes, we kept a pupa in a jar for a few days and then I saw the beetle had emerged. It looked very pale orange so I thought it was sick, but then I saw images like these. http://www.hmrprint.com/helensphotos/LADYBUGS.html

You may know, adult cicadas are white when they first emerge - There's amazing footage of this in the Planet Earth episode about forests.