Caterpillar Waystation / Herbivory Labyrinth

Caterpillar Waystation / Herbivory Labyrinth is an ephemeral semi-interpretive center, an extension of the Macrocosmos Caterpillar: Monarch Streetcar project. This exhibition features mosaics, futuristic road signs, gouache paintings, and a quilt by the members of the Lepidopteran Art Group:

Lepidopteran Art Group 

Lepidoptera is the order of insects that includes moths and butterflies. The Lepidopteran Art Group is a freshly-formed group of Kansas City artists that have galvanized over their shared concern for these imperiled invertebrates. Without caterpillars, we would likely lose all songbirds. Without insects, we would pollinate many crops by hand. To sustain coexistence, LAG aims to incite positive connections between plants, insects & people while working with themes of metamorphosis, borders, & migration. 

LAG aims to incite passion for our diverse insect population- and the host plants on which they depend. They begin this work primarily transfixed on the iconic migratory monarch butterfly and its host plant, milkweed (Asclepias species). The monarch butterfly has declined by 80% since the 1990s and has thus become a poster child for prairie reconstruction. Before this the monarch butterfly symbolized- and it continues to symbolize- the returning spirits of ancestors during the November celebration of Dia de Los Muertos. Anyone in Kansas City can help save this powerful cultural symbol from extinction as we are within the monarch migration flyway. One could help by planting a pollinator garden or by supporting organizations and individuals who reconstruct habitat. You may choose to be a steward of a symbol of spirit. 

LAG currently resembles the wings of the little wood satyr- with four pairs of fixed eyes. Christina Bereolos, Patricia Bordallo Dibildox, Amanda Gehin, and Andy Ozier are peeking at the insect apocalypse. The first project of the Lepidopteran Art Group, Macrocosmos Caterpillar: Monarch Streetcar, is currently a moving monument in downtown Kansas City and will come to a close when the remaining living monarchs leave for the Oyamel Fir forests of Mexico.