Rat Snake and Swallowtails "Memento Mori" Sticker

This illustration "Memento Mori" depicts a scene I came across in the summer of 2024. Butterflies engage in a behavior called “puddling”, in which they congregate to gather nutrients they can’t otherwise get from just flowers (you’ll often notice them puddling on riverbanks, roads, dead animals, mineral deposits, etc). I was struck by how beautiful the juxtaposition was from a dead predator giving life to non-predatory insects. It was a very humbling scene and serves to remind one that everything is connected, and that no matter how far we go in life we will all one day give back to the Earth what we have taken.