While I was in the third grade in my elementary school, we had a number of class pets. There was a large insect case with a handful of stick bugs inside, and a separate case where we raised mealworms. I remember being both horrified and fascinated by them.

With wonder, we watched the way they moved, how they grew, and how they changed appearance as they got bigger. Even if they seemed a bit creepy at the time, the entire class became emotionally invested in the well-being and metamorphosis of these small creatures in our care.

I get to reexperience this feeling when I go to the different elementary schools around my district in rural Hokkaido, as many of the classes here keep insect cases as well.

There are two main types of butterflies that the kids have gone and collected eggs for: the Asian Swallowtail butterfly, and the Blue Chinese Peacock Butterfly. I always take a look at the insect cages when I visit the schools as they grow quickly, and the kids are always excited to tell me all about them. Kids are allowed to take a caterpillar home to care for them over the weekend. I was lucky to be given one to care for as well!

One week there will be chonky caterpillars munching on the leaves from trees or carrot tops. In a following week, many of them have morphed into cocoons, tucked safely into their thread sling that took a day to weave.

Next it is the waiting game, to see how the wing patterns emerge in the transparent bodies, and to see them crawl out of the shells of their previous form. There is much excitement when we get to see them slowly stretch and flutter their wings dry!

The education children get through taking care of these insects is invaluable. They learn to nurture and cherish life by keeping the cases clean, and harvesting fresh leaves from the particular insect’s preferred plants and trees for food. They witness the wonder of metamorphosis from a small egg, becoming a round caterpillar one day to a cocoon the next, and finally to a butterfly all in a matter of weeks. They learn the importance of biodiversity, as these species are only available in the presence of very specific trees, and so much more.

When all of the butterflies emerge, it becomes a class event to release them into the wild. The kids laugh and shed a few tears as they say goodbye to their new insect friends. It is sad to see them go, yet from that day on they treat every living thing with a bit more love and respect than they did the day before.