Caterpillar Curl

 

If not for the bright orange band, I never would have noticed it. This plump Wooly Bear caterpillar stood motionless on the rim of a round planter in our yard.

I have noticed a substantial number of them this fall. Popular myths say their appearance can predict what kind of a winter we will have, although there is no scientific evidence to support that. They are incredible little creatures, nonetheless. They hatch out in the Spring, feed on a vast assortment of vegetation, and molt their skin multiple times as they grow larger. When they have reached the proper stage of this development, they form a cocoon around themselves using the spikey “hairs” from their skin. Inside the cocoon, their bodies transition into a lovely Isabella tiger moth, which hatches in the Spring and begins the cycle again. The remarkable thing is, if the caterpillar does not eat enough to reach the size needed for transition, it simply finds a place to hide over the winter and waits until Spring to resume eating. Its small body can withstand total freezing thanks to type of “antifreeze” it produces to enable it to live. It is indeed a sturdy little thing with amazing power to survive.

Not so amazing, however, is its tactic to avoid harm. Curious as to how it moved, I sprayed it gently with a bit of water from the hose I was using. Surprisingly, it immediately curled itself up into a ball and allowed the water to wash it off the container rim and onto the soil. There it lay, inert as a  rock while the water puddled up around it. Regretful of my action  and feeling sorry for it, I gently picked it up and placed it on a rock near the outside bottom of the container. The top of the rock was jagged and uneven, and it simply rolled off and into a narrow space between the rock and the container. The space proved too small for me to retrieve it, so I had to leave well enough alone and give up seeing it move…

Although its defensive action likely served to ward off predators with its armor of bristly hairs protecting its soft underside, I found it questionable and couldn’t help comparing it to the way we humans sometimes behave in similar fashion…

I have a 91-year-old friend who lives alone with no family nearby. She has some back problems and suffers from bouts of depression. We have called each other for years and sometimes meet for lunch. One day it occurred to me we hadn’t talked in some time, so I promptly called her to see how she was. Turns out, she’d wanted to talk to me, but felt she was grouchy and had nothing positive to say, so didn’t want to “burden” me with her complaints. I reassured her we needed to stay in touch no matter our individual moods or problems and she readily agreed. By the end of that call, her mood had noticeably improved.

I once met a woman who was fighting a virulent form of cancer and attended our church a few times. When we noticed she no longer came, a talk with a mutual friend revealed the woman had quit coming because she could not bear the compassionate concerns members expressed to her. To her, the attention was simply unbearable.

Difficult though it may be, we need to be able to share our woes with others. NO ONE in this life escapes unscathed, and rolling ourselves into a ball and hiding away from that fact does none of us any good…

One who has isolated himself seeks his own desires; 
he rejects all sound judgment.
 ~ Proverbs 18:1

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 
If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. 
But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-10