Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Chrysalis or Cocoon?



Daniel and I had a discussion about whether butterflies make a chrysalis or a cocoon. I told him that not all "flying flowers" are butterflies--some are moths. There are several differences between butterflies and moths. One difference is that a butterfly makes a chrysalis and a moth makes a cocoon. We went searching this morning for a moth so we could study the difference and wouldn't you know it we couldn't find one. We did come across a fluttery white butterfly. We will keep searching. Be on the look out for a moth and see if you can spot any more differences.

2 comments:

Michelle said...

Did you know that in Eric Carle's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, he uses the word cocoon? He has admitted to this inaccuracy, and said that when writing the story, cocoon just fit better than chrysalis.

Nancy Dain-Cooper said...

I used to read this book in my classroom during our study of caterpillars/butterflies and wait to see when the kids would pick out the inaccuracy. It was fun to see their faces when they discovered their new found knowledge. It then became a challenge for the kids to make sure that what their reading is factual.