When Decatur native Erika Kulers came across a caterpillar on the way to class, the 16-year-old did what any teen probably wouldn't do.
Kulers named the creature "Chicken Nugget," appropriately inspired by a chicken nugget meal at lunch, and took to Tumblr to document the beginning of a lovely coming-of-age tale.
On Friday, Aug. 5—the day Kulers found the caterpillar—the Decatur High School student who goes by "Oddity" on Tumblr wrote the first post. "We're bros," the teen wrote about the Spicebush Swallowtail.
Kulers learned Chicken Nugget's species turns yellow before they pupate and immediately began noticing some changes...
"By fifth period, he had already started turning yellow," the teen told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
And right before Kulers' eyes, Chicken Nugget was moving onto the next phase of its life.
The Decatur native even put on "some tunez for him so he can get into the metamorphazone."
Kulers told Buzzfeed News that the 14-day chrysalis period was "suspenseful and a little sad."
One day, while Kulers was unfortunately at marching band practice and unable to see the transformation live, Chicken Nugget went through quite the makeover.
Welcome to the world, Chicken Wing.
Kulers came home and immediately noticed something different about the butterfly: one of its wings was smaller than the other.
"Chicken Wing is actually a bilateral gynandromorph," Kulers said. "It has one female side and one male side, which is super rare. I thought it was really cool."
The new beginning for Chicken Wing was bittersweet for Kulers, who let the dear friend fly free last Sunday. Watch the video below:
After Chicken Nugget/Wing's tale spread online, memes, fan art and even Pokemon were created in its honor.
"The response has been really positive and I really appreciate that," Kulers said. "And the fan art is awesome."
You can find more fan art and appreciation at chicken-nugget-appreciation.tumblr.com.
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