The Very Hungry Caterpillars

Grandma and Pi gave Eli a butterfly habitat for Christmas, and since the weather is getting much warmer, we decided to order our butterfly larva from here.

It was amazing to watch the transformation of the very tiny caterpillars to the beautiful Painted Lady butterflies.  Plus, it was an amazing lesson on the lifecycle of a butterfly and metamorphosis. 

Here is a re-cap of the month we spent with our butterflies:

They arrive!  Eli is very busy making observations and forming hypotheses. 

Look how tiny they are!!

 

On day twelve, the big guys are forming their "J" on the top of the container and starting to weave their chrysalides.

 



 

When we woke on day thirteen, we found our caterpillars had changed into their chrysalides!

Isn’t the close up of that newly formed chrysalis marvelous?
And this one below is nearly ready to hatch.  Can you tell the difference?  You can already see the beautiful wings showing through the very thin walls.

 

And then it came time for us to release our new friends. It was a spectacular experience.

 

Observing the chrysalis remains

Although we did worry about this little guy.  His friend chewed through the webbing attaching him to the top of the cup and the chrysalis fell causing his wings to be deformed.  He is only able to jump, no flying.  We set him in our lilac bush, and he immediately started slurping up the sweet nectar.  Can you see his probiscus?

 

 
 Cheers!