Not far from here, if you walk by the Helena Valley Creek you will find the milkweed plant. And on the leaves of this milkweed plant, if you look very carefully…

…you might see tiny pin-sized pearls.

But don’t be deceived.

Each one of these pearls contains a micro-universe complete with cities, roads, factories, machines, transportation systems, chemical laboratories, engineering plants, hospitals, defence systems and a million other mysteries that defy human understanding.

Within a week each one of these shiny orbs will hatch a tiny stripy caterpillar… a caterpillar which will grow a whopping 3000 times its size within just two weeks. It will then shed its stripy black, yellow and white skin along with its sixteen legs and six eyes to reveal a 36-gold-spotted green chrysalis. And within this chrysalis, that caterpillar will completely self-destruct.

Everything that was once caterpillar will turn to green goo. And within just eight days that green goo will transform into a black, yellow and orange flying machine complete with feet that can taste flowers, antennae that can help it tell the time, and two new eyes each constructed of 6000 lenses capable of seeing all the colours of the rainbow including ultraviolet light.

We call this beautiful flying machine the monarch butterfly. And it’s not just a pretty thing to look at.

That little butterfly has the fuel tank and navigational capacity to find its way to a specific location 5000 km away that it has never visited before. Why does it exist? It exists because this monarch has a king who wants to show the world his glory.

Join us for this free event for all ages as Dr. Martin Ricquebourg unveils the intricate design of this magnificent little insect.