It was bee Minwoo who saw the signs first: Caterpillar Andy has lost his appetite.

Crumpled into a tight ball, Minwoo noticed Andy is not eating his usual rations of milkweed which is crucial for his kind. Born as larvae to the American monarch butterfly, caterpillar Andy is only eligible to eat carefully cultivated milkweed leaves. His food is grown with great care in a greenhouse far beyond the meadow where they reside, and his brother Junjin, takes immense risk to get him two to three leaves should the hound-like gardener find out of their trespassing.

“Andy, are you okay?” Minwoo asked as he buzzed over to Andy’s end of the table, which has grown unnaturally quiet despite the rowdy commotion going on. They are seated at the end of a flattened boulder beside a clear stream. They were able to find a nice canopy under plants with wide leaves, as it hides them from predatory birds and other insects. Despite their differences, their group defied the laws of nature, becoming friends through compromise and other experiences that allowed them to grow and stay together.

At the moment, the group is immersed in watching the crazy antics prepared by Junjin, shaking his colourful wings and wagging his stinger in a scandalous manner. Being a special kind of bee, he was dubbed a “butterbee”, in which he inherited from his vibrant wings from his butterfly mother and his yellow body and honey-gathering skills from his bee father. He has been adopted by Minwoo’s colony when he came of age and despite not being able to adjust at first; their group of insect friend has made it easier for the beautiful hybrid to adapt into the daily life.

Ladybug Hyesung lives near a rosy flower pot just a stone’s throw away from Minwoo’s hive. He likes to play amongst the flowers and fruit trees in blossom in the morning, and goes to visit after his aphid lunch. Since ladybugs can eat honey too, Minwoo gives Hyesung a portion of his personally collected honey, which his spotty friend enjoys. Due to Hyesung’s generally perceived gentle nature, he is fun to tease, and would always be tipped by daddy long-legs Eric with his considerably long limbs and Hyesung will have a difficulty getting back up as he from his side, with matching curses.

As much as Eric is a prankster, he is the weakest member in their group, stumbling over his legs whenever they run and fly across the field. Dongwan, on the other hand, as a mantis, have a remarkable ability to jump from one plant to another, in a blink of an eye. Mantises can rapidly twist their bodies, and corkscrew through the air, and land precisely on top of their target. In this case, on top of Hyesung to pin him down. Chaos continued to ensue while Minwoo looked after Andy whose body has emaciated due to his preparation in forming his chrysalis in the coming weeks.  

“I don’t feel good, hyung.” Andy murmured and closed his eyes, curling his small body, and eventually dozing off. He said no more but Minwoo feels that something is truly wrong and rounded up his friends through his loud voice. “I think Andy is sick.”

“Really?” Junjin stopped rubbing imaginary honey on his stinger, while Eric helped Hyesung get up. Dongwan immediately rushed to Andy’s side. Being addicted to medicinal herbs does have its perks as he tried to gauge the level of Andy’s sickness. He noticed the milkweed shavings that remained untouched. “What happened?”

Minwoo shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Junjin tried to shake Andy to wake him up. Minwoo stopped him. “No, don’t wake him. He needs to rest.”

“Why is he not eating?” Hyesung asked, flapping his little wings to brush off miniscule dust.

Eric looked at the milkwood shavings and held one up. He sniffed it, and scrunched his face. “I think it is a different variety from the one you used to bring home, Jinnie.”

“Also, the leaves are darker, and there is a faint smell that you won’t really notice at first.” Dongwan added, and gently wrapped Andy in a leaf. Andy continued to sleep, unmoving. Hyesung looked on, worried.

“We need to stop feeding it to him. We need to be careful since Andy will be undergoing chrysalis soon and if it turned out black, it is an indication that he is infected with a bacterial disease or virus. Andy will become smaller and skinnier when he attempts to pupate and it will be his most delicate condition.” Dongwan mentioned in one breath, and cradled their youngest. Andy’s face has become sallow, and his great shiny striped, which bear the proud bearing of his lineage has become lacklustre.

“It’s frigging pesticide.” Eric cursed, and collected the leaves to dispose them. He handed them to Minwoo. “Better throw these away. It might even contain Ophryocystis elektroscirrha parasites.”

The group fell mournfully silent.

“What do we do? I don’t want Andy to die.” Junjin said, teary-eyed. His wings drooped and he felt his shoulders shake, not sure what to feel. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“It is not your fault.” Hyesung flew and sat beside Junjin, offering him a feathery hug.

“But Andy’s kind only eats milkweed. He can’t eat any kind of plants.” Junjin continued, fighting back tears. “And I don’t know any available milkweed places aside from the greenhouse. That evil gardener. He might have seen me. I’ll show him.” Junjin stood up and readied his stinger against the boulder, sharpening it.

“Not so fast, Jinnie.” Dongwan said, and folded his mantis arms. “There’s no use taking revenge now. Priority is to give Andy an alternative.”

Minwoo looked at his friends and thought hard. He remembered in his honey-gathering activities together with his fellow bees stories about a legendary flower that has started growing beyond the meadow.

“The journey is long, but there may be a solution we can try.” Minwoo said, and motioned everyone to gather closer. “Lately, I have heard stories of fellow bees returning from their long journey. They were tired and exhausted but the looks on their faces were priceless.”

“Go on.” Hyesung murmured, listening intently. All eyes were on Minwoo.

“They brought with them high-quality honey that the Queen herself has requested. It is said to have medicinal properties and was collected from a special flower which blooms into an outstanding orange color. It is aptly named Shinhwa changjoensis.”

“What a pretty name.” Dongwan whispered, and a dreamy look entered his eyes.

“We need to prepare for the trip then.” Eric stood on his many and looked at sleeping Andy. “Do we leave him?”

“Are you crazy? Of course we take him!” Junjin near-shouted, surprising everyone.

“What if a tachinid fly finds him and lay its eggs on him? Do you seriously want him to die for real?”

Everyone looked at Eric, but Eric remained unfazed. He crossed his spindly arms and looked at Junjin directly in the eye. “But Jinnie, take note. Should Andy refuse to eat in the next 24 hours, he needs to be isolated, separated from the rest. Quarantined, as that already means he is compromised.”

Junjin swallowed hard and looked at his sleeping brother. Even at sleep, Andy looked ethereal, at peace. It is difficult to imagine he is already one step away from Death’s doorstep.

“So far, Andy has not expelled any green vomit, which means his milkweed shavings remained untouched.” Minwoo comfortingly said, and scooted over the edge of the river to throw the milkweed shavings. “I suggest we all gather our food rations in preparation for the long journey. We have a lot of streams to cross, and meadows to fly over, before we reach the place where the flower grows in abundance.”

With that said, everyone went back to their homes to shortly prepare. Hyesung strapped a few aphids under his wings for the team. Dongwan flexed his arms and practiced his jumping as his kind is known for their enormous appetite and he will need to hunt for his many-legged friends too should their portions diminish at an unexpected pace.  

Junjin spared one last look at Andy before Hyesung strapped the baby caterpillar securely behind his back with a twine and put a hood to cover his face. Monarch caterpillars are also perceived as tasty snacks, most especially by ants in huge numbers and deadly wasps. Minwoo and Junjin would need to lead the team in a safer route away from these apparent dangers.

“Everything’s going to be alright.” Minwoo patted Junjin’s head and motioned everyone to get into formation for their flight. At a count of three, tiny shadows by the dying light of the day cautiously passed by the stream, as they chose to travel at night to hide from the sparrows and other predators they may encounter along the way.

Hyesung flew, and Dongwan jumped from one leaf to another. Minwoo carried Eric, who was holding all the supplies they could gather. Junjin gently took off to ensure Andy won’t fall.  

With anxious hearts and only with what amount of gathered nectar and aphid they can bring through their spindly arms and legs, with the remaining additionals strapped onto their bodies, they flew to the great unknown hoping that Andy would make it. They hope to see with him tomorrow’s sunset, putting faith on a beautiful unknown flower whose color is said to be orange, the color they’ve always so loved.