Marty Mead of Seymour doesn’t consider himself much of an environmentalist or a conservationist.

The butterflies that thrive in his backyard, however, may think differently, if butterflies think about things like that.

Mead, an officer with the Indiana State Police and his wife, Stacy, a preschool teacher at Jackson Elementary School, have been “raising” butterflies, specifically Monarch butterflies, for years.

It started when their two sons were in grade school. The boys would share the hobby with their classes, taking in caterpillars to show the other kids.

The caterpillars would eat and grow and then form their cocoons or chrysalis. After a few days, they would emerge and unfold their wings to reveal their transformation into beautiful orange and black Monarch butterflies.

Once they “hatched,” they were released into the wild.

For the rest of the story, read Thursday’s edition of The Tribune.