14 DAY TRIAL // About two months ago, Maraleen Manon-Jones stumbled upon a Monarch caterpillar that was busy forming a cocoon in her backyard.
Because Maraleen is very passionate about butterflies and knows quite a lot about them, she immediately realized that, unlike its fellow caterpillars, this “baby” Monarch butterfly was a so-called late bloomer.
More precisely, its decision to turn into a cocoon was taken a tad too late, and by the time its transformation into a butterfly was completed, it would have been too late for it to face the cold weather and head towards South Texas.
Luckily for this butterfly, Maraleen took it into her home and looked after it until it emerged from its cocoon. After that, she contacted Southwest Airline, who agreed to offer them both a free plane ride from New York to Texas.
Once Maraleen and the butterfly got to Texas, the late bloomer was released near the San Antonio Botanical Garden.
After spending some time there to gather up strength, the butterfly will head towards central Mexico, Tree Hugger explains.