If you have never spent time with Sam Jaffe, the founder of The Caterpillar Lab, then I surmise that you have lost all sense of wonder, or perhaps that you don’t know what you don’t know. As a recent-ish convert to being a lover of bugs and mini-beasts (conversion thanks to Brazil–you can see my old blog about it here), it was inevitable that I found Sam and The Caterpillar Lab within months of arriving in Weston.

Based in Keene, NH (Live Free or Die!), The Caterpillar Lab often travels. From their official site: “The Caterpillar Lab fosters greater appreciation and care for the complexity and beauty of our local natural history through live caterpillar educational programs, research initiatives, and photography and film projects. We believe that an increased awareness of one’s local environment is the foundation on which healthy and responsible attitudes towards the broader natural systems of this world is built.” Some of the videos are totally addictive.

Unlike many Brazilian caterpillars which would like nothing better than to kill you or make you really really miserable (true story–I took a spider, snakes and venomous beasts class at Instituto Butantan in São Paulo and whoooo, there are many ways to die and none of them good), most stateside caterpillars do not want to sting you to death. Nope, mostly they just want to eat and eat and eat leaves and chub out and then move on to their next stage. They are wonderful mini-beasts of all colors and sizes–and the staff and volunteers of The Caterpillar Lab would love to tell you all about them. Attention: you do not need to be a kid to love this. You need to have your sense of wonder fully in place, however.

We need The Caterpillar Lab to come to Weston. Dear AIC, can we do a program with them, maybe of sketching mini-beasts? Or making models of them? Or just hang around with them? Yes, please. Until then, the Wayland Public Library is where you can see the caterpillars close to home: Tuesday, July 19 from 2 pm – 5 pm. 5 Concord Road, Wayland. You can even bicycle there on the rail trail. And then bicycle home watching the milkweed for monarchs. There, I’ve figured out your Tuesday.

From the official Wayland Public Library page:

Join The Caterpillar Lab in a free-exploration program and experience the incredible world of New England caterpillars. With open-air displays featuring native caterpillars on local plants, you can walk through the varied habitats of New England’s forest in an afternoon. Bright foliage bursts with color and life, while our caterpillar experts are on hand to answer questions, share our experiences, and highlight the many unique stories found in our own backyards. A Caterpillar Lab program is a victory garden of our favorite Lepidopteran guests; come explore with us! Drop in anytime between 2pm and 5pm.

For all ages