Monarchs and Maggots

For whatever reason, I have been in a very musing mood today (this can be a very dangerous thing, for all those involved). During my musings I came to the solid conclusion that the world is a strange place. Sometimes it’s just downright backwards. Things are not always what they seem.

Take the monarch butterfly versus a maggot, for example. If someone were to simply walk up to me out of the blue and ask, “Monarch or maggot? Which would you choose?” I would likely be inclined to reply, “Monarch.” After all, monarchs are beautiful butterflies, fluttering about from plant to plant on delicate wings. Whereas maggots are, well, maggots, nasty little buggers that they are. But upon deeper thought, maybe that shouldn’t be my automatic answer. Why? Well, that charming little monarch is actually a poisonous butterfly, able to sequester a particular substance from milkweed and use it as a toxin against certain predators that attempt to ingest it. On the other hand, although an ugly sort, maggots can be quite valuable and potentially lifesaving in the medical field, able to clean wounds and rid them of necrotic flesh. That being said, if someone were to now walk up to me and ask, “Monarch or maggot? Which would you choose?” my answer might not be so quick and simple. In the case of a medical emergency, for example, such as in any unfortunate hypothetical scenario where I find myself afflicted with some necrotic flesh, I certainly should not so easily discount the maggot. And perhaps I shouldn’t so easily accept the company of the monarch butterfly.

So it’s monarch versus maggot. Beautiful toxin chamber versus repulsive lifesaver. Things just aren’t always what they seem.

(As a side note, I must admit that the aforementioned concept of monarch versus maggot has, in truth, been bouncing around in the dark corners of my brainpan for some time now. I don’t know exactly why or how that concept of monarchs and maggots welcomed itself into my mind, and there’s a good chance that it doesn’t even make that much sense, but it forced itself in regardless. And it’s been stuck there in the mud of my mind ever since, just collecting cobwebs. That is, until my musings of today broke it loose and finally found a use for it.)