The other day Gerard called me outside to come have a look at something out in the driveway of the safari lodge. As I walked out he pointed at something across the path and I said to him” you call me out to show me a piece of rope lying across the path?”
He said I must look closer, on looking closer to the “rope” I saw that it was moving quite slowly, on a closer inspection I saw that it was a “string” of caterpillars.
They were on their Great Migration. They move from one place to the other buy following each other almost as if they were connected. As they go along their way they leave behind a trail of silk. This helps them to stay behind each other while on their great trek.
Once they have gotten to where they want to be they will find a spot and wrap themselves up in a cocoon. They migrate in the early winter months to get to their destination before it gets too cold. They will mostly attach themselves to a branch or something sturdy when they wrap themselves in the cocoons.
They are most likely to spend a month wrapped up warm and snug in the cocoons then they will start to “break free”. Once they have come out of their cocoons they will spread their wings for the first time and head out into the world to do what butterflies do best: pollinate all our beautiful flowers.