[The Miracle of July 1st] Until 'Ao-kun', the Swallowtail Butterfly that Dried Its Wings by My Ear, Took Flight into the Vast Sky

Hello!

The second half of 2026 has finally begun, and July is here.

Actually, on the morning of July 1st, something truly, truly unbelievable and

moving—a 'miracle of life'—happened in our home.

It's a bit of a long story, but please let me share it with you all ^^

To be honest, this year, for the first time, I welcomed a common swallowtail caterpillar I found in my garden into my home.

When I found it, it was a tiny black caterpillar, only about 3 millimeters long.

From there, it turned into a round green caterpillar, so I named it 'Ao-kun,' and I raised it with care, first in a ceramic cup, and then in an insect cage once it grew larger.
I named it 'Ao-kun,' and I raised it with care, first in a ceramic cup, and then in an insect cage once it grew larger.
and then in an insect cage once it grew larger.

Delivering fresh citrus leaves every single day has been my most cherished daily routine lately.

Eventually, 'Ao-kun' turned into a chrysalis. It was green at first, but then it transformed into brown to match the cardboard it was resting on!!

Until the night before it emerged, it didn't show any movement at all; it remained a brown chrysalis without even a twitch.

Then, around 5:00 AM on the morning of July 1st, as I was returning to my room after yoga, I felt a strange presence, like a 'gaze,' in the corner of my eye.

Thinking, 'Is it just my imagination?', I quickly looked at the insect cage... To my surprise, the chrysalis that had been brown until yesterday had turned completely black!

Just before a chrysalis transforms into a butterfly, the wings inside become transparent and turn black. Emergence is imminent!!

At that moment, the chrysalis started to wiggle!

I panicked in my heart, thinking, 'Oh no! Camera, camera!', wanting to capture the moment of emergence on video, but 'Ao-kun' slipped out of its shell in the blink of an eye.

And then, slowly, slowly, it transformed into a beautiful swallowtail butterfly under its own power.

Although the camera couldn't capture the video of that moment,
being able to witness this miraculous moment of 'eclosion',
I was just so, so happy!!!

My heart was full.

After that, an unexpected incident occurred.

It seems the 'insect cage' in our house was a little too small,
and the lower wings of 'Ao-kun', who had just emerged,
were touching the bottom of the cage.

If a swallowtail butterfly doesn't spend several hours drying its wings thoroughly after emerging,
it will never be able to fly for the rest of its life.

Having learned that there are butterflies that can fly and butterflies that cannot,
my heart was pounding with anxiety.

To make matters worse, 'Ao-kun' suddenly fell over,
landing on its back inside the cage💦

In truth, it's better not to touch them with human hands. But if it stayed
on its back like that, its wings wouldn't open properly and it wouldn't be able to fly.

Trembling, I prepared a small piece of cardboard,
opened the lid of the insect cage, and said, 'Please climb on here.'

And what do you think happened?

With a little pitter-patter... it skillfully crawled onto the cardboard,
and in an instant, it climbed onto my hand. And then, it moved right onto my shoulder.

While I was frozen, a mix of overwhelming joy and
the nervous feeling of 'I mustn't hurt it, what should I do!',
'Ao-kun' climbed even further, pitter-patter, right up to my ear.

And believe it or not, it hung on tightly right next to my ear, near my earring,
and stayed perfectly still.

I was in a state where I couldn't even speak or move (lol).
However, the 'precious weight and warmth of life' I felt directly by my ear
brought a sense of happiness that I couldn't put into words.

'Thank you so much for being born.'

Whispering that in my heart, I spent about an hour quietly with Ao-kun.

After that, seeing that its wings had settled a bit, I gently moved it to the screen door.
There, I learned another piece of wisdom for the first time.

Butterflies, it seems, 'pee' right before they take off into the vast sky.
They apparently expel all the excess moisture in their bodies
to make themselves as light as possible before flying,
and 'Ao-kun' was also expelling clear fluid from its body.

Seeing that,
'Ah, it's ready to fly now,' I felt relieved.
Since everything was a first for me, my emotions were on quite a rollercoaster.

From there, it took several more hours for the wings to dry completely and open fully.
By noon, it had started practicing flapping its wings on the screen door.

Since the forecast said it would rain from the afternoon, I was a little worried, thinking,
'It might be cruel to let him out. If he can't fly well, I'll take him back in and protect him again,'
but I gently opened the window and let him out.

Then, after resting his wings and breathing in the outside air for a while...

Flap, flap, flap! He flew off powerfully toward the vast sky!

Right across from our house, there is a home with many large trees
where he could probably find shelter from the rain.

Without hesitation, 'Ao-kun'
flew straight toward that greenery.

I couldn't help but shout, 'Do your best!' while waving my hand as hard as I could.

My husband, who happened to be off work yesterday,
managed to capture that moving moment of departure perfectly on video💞 (I'm so incredibly happy!)

No matter how many times I watch it, it was such a dramatic scene
that it almost makes me want to cry (lol).

Thanks to 'Ao-kun,' yesterday was a day filled with a proud and
loving feeling, as if I had become a mother for the first time.

The insect cage in the room is empty now, and I feel a little lonely. But I feel that having the experience of 'raising a butterfly from a caterpillar' this year was truly wonderful.

I feel like I was taught the moment of life's birth, and this wonderful 'cycle' of the natural world,
all over again at my age,
by a little teacher named 'Ao-kun'.

Taking off into the vast sky with his own wings.
Seeing Ao-kun like that felt like a cheer
for how I want to live my own life from now on.

Ao-kun, thank you so much for finding me
and for giving me so much inspiration.

Take care. And I would be so happy if I could meet a caterpillar again next year🥰