Summer is almost here, and that means that some things are happening around here. Specifically, some pretty cool creatures are showing up. That means if you see this little critter in the video below, don't mess with him, kill him, smash him, use him for fishing bait, etc.

This particular caterpillar will eventually change into a monarch butterfly. And, that's actually what's going on right now in our neck of the woods. Take a few minutes to watch the (please note my impressive use of vocabulary there) below:

This video was actually taken at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center in Nacogdoches. That means these little guys are native to the SFA Gardens. And, it also means, DON'T SMASH IT!

That's really the message that we're trying to get across. Even though people think that the caterpillar is gross-looking, we still need to remember, DON'T SMASH IT. Why? Because, eventually, it will turn into this:

So, class, what have we learned today?

-If we see the yellow, black and white caterpillar here in Deep East Texas, DON'T SMASH IT!

And, one more time, just for the heck of it...DON'T SMASH IT! Also, you should check out all the cool stuff that's going on at the SFA Gardens now that summer is almost here. What cool stuff have you noticed changing as it gets nearer? Let us know in the comments below!