By DOREEN ST. LAURENT

Hundreds of Lewiston students this year witnessed first hand the intriguing life cycle of the monarch butterfly.

Doreen St. Laurent, a former math teacher at Lewiston High School, searched for monarch caterpillars last July in the milkweed fields off Ferry Road. By the time school started at the end of August, St. Laurent had found 245 caterpillars and offered to share them with interested teachers.

Caterpillars were delivered to Farwell, Longley, Montello, Martel, McMahon and Pettingill elementary schools, Lewiston Middle and High School. As word of St. Laurent’s deliveries spread among the teachers, even more requests came in, sending St. Laurent back into the fields almost daily. By Sept 19, 2008, St. Laurent had found 346 monarch caterpillars and had shared her find with more than 75 educators.

The students were able to see the monarchs in the caterpillar stage, where all they do is eat and eliminate. They saw that the caterpillars eat a great deal and their container needed to be kept clean. Some caterpillars were tiny when delivered to the schools, and others were the size of an adult pinky. Some students got to watch the caterpillars eat for only a day before hanging upside down in the shape of a “J” before shedding their skin one last time, turning into its green chrysalis. Others got to watch their caterpillars eat steadily for days.

Once in the chrysalis, it would take the monarch 12-14 days to go through its transformation. Some of the Lewiston students were lucky enough to see the butterfly emerge from the chrysalis, and others were able to hold the butterfly before setting it free.