Butterfly for a Pet!

Ever have a butterfly for a pet?  I have one named "Cutie Pie".  Didn't plan on keeping the butterfly, but when he emerged from his chrysalis he fell to the bottom of the cage and landed on his back.  They are so vulerable when they are still wet.  He couldn't turn over so his wings dryed all crumpled.  He is a survivor!  My daughter and I feed Cutie Pie sugar water everyday and he loves it.  He will sit on my fingers and sip.  While he sips his little crumpled wings go up and down in a very satisfied motion.  He loves to hang on the curtain in the morning sun.  We are wondering how long he will live.  So far it has been a week and he is still going strong.

Monarch Migration

Toward the end of summer when the days and nights get cooler the butterflies that emerge from their chrysalis will make the long 3,000 mile journey south to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico.  How they know how to get there is still a mystery to scientist.  These butterflies are the great, great grandchildren of the original butterfly that came north.  Here is a great site to visit.  http://www.fs.fed.us/monarchbutterfly/migration/index.shtml

Beautiful Butterflies!

The Silent Period

The chrysalis is the "silent period" to me.  The time when they don't appear to be doing anything but really on the inside amazing things are happening.  Then all of a sudden a beautiful butterfly bursts forth and is flying all over the place!  (Teachers think about the "silent period with your ESL students.)

The "J"

Change is scary and a lot of hard work.  The end result is beautiful and well worth the effort.  That is what I have learned from the Monarch.

They're taking over!!

My observations of caterpillars over the years has led me to believe that caterpillars have different personalities.  Some are easy-going and some are very independent and/or stubborn.

Caterpillar Feet

I love baby feet.  I would kiss my children's baby feet everyday because they were so tiny and cute!  Now that they are older I tend to wrinkle my nose.  Take a look at some caterpillar feet.  I wonder how many?  I wonder how these feet hang on to the leaf?  Will I count by 2's, 5's or 10's?

Do Caterpillars need glasses?

"Monarch larvae, like other caterpillars, have very poor vision. They see through six pairs of simple eyes, called ocelli."  http://www.mbsf.org/facts.html 
You can also go to this site to see a great picture of the eyes:  http://www.butterflyfunfacts.com/caterpillareyes.php
This guy put his head up as if to see what I was up to.  I thanked him for posing so nicely.

No Noses!

Caterpillars don't have noses like humans.  They breath through holes along the side of their body.  Can you see the hole on the this caterpillar?  Click on the photo to make it larger.

Caterpillar doing Yoga!

Isn't he cute?  I wonder why he is posed that way?

20 Caterpillars!

I've been saving the world, "One caterpillar at a time."  as my Aunt Jan says.  Twenty caterpillars eat A LOT of milkweed.  With some patience I captured photos of caterpillars hatching.  They are so tiny!  Check out this website I found with a little video of a caterpillar hatching.  So amazing!  http://jacksbugs.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post_30.html