(Atlantic Beach, N.C.) Along a 30-mile stretch of the central N.C. coastline, what may be the rarest butterfly in the world is awakening from its winter slumber. To ward off the cold and wind, tiny green caterpillars had snuggled into the leaves of seaside little bluestem, a grass that grows in tufts amid the dunes of barrier islands. The caterpillars were inactive through the winter and in a life stage called diapause, a state of dormancy in which all development is suspended. Unlike hibernation where development and metabolism still occur at a slower rate, during diapause all cellular growth stops. As the days grew longer and warmer, the caterpillars began to feed on bluestem leaves before beginning the transformation into a type of butterfly called a skipper. By mid-April, a small fuzzy brown butterfly emerged and begin looking for some nectar.
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