A Funny Story

[homeschoolingmama]

We have been taking care of caterpillars/butterflies for about 3 wks now. We ordered the caterpillars in the mail. We fed them and watched them grow. They then turned into pupae. We anxiously awaited for the butterflies to emerge. On Mothers day the first 3 did. Since then more have emerged and they have been fluttering their wings to straighten them out. Two were ready to be released. Since today was a nice sunny day I thought we could set 2 of them free. I brought the 3 oldest outside with the aquarium and camera. I put the first butterfly into Amelie's hands for take off. All the while I am taking pictures. The moment arrives. Our first butterfly has taken off. We all watch in wonder and awe until...

a bird swoops down and starts attacking the butterfly. I start yelling Oh Oh Oh. The girls are shocked. The butterfly lands in the grass and the bird is frantically pecking trying to get him. I run out and save the butterfly. He/she is safely put back in our aquarium. What started out as a beautiful experience quickly turned into a disaster.

I am happy for the educational experience it provided us though. I am just happy that we didn't have to sacrifice our butterfly for them to learn that!

Looking back it is quite funny!

[MommaCrystal]

oh my goodness! I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry! That is quite the story!

[elizawill]

i'm laughing so hard. i read your post & pictured my own family under those circumstances. we would have all been yelling and freaking out.... serious drama. i wish you had it on video....you'd win america's funniest home videos. i'm glad the butterfly is okay

[dannic]

too funny!

[neveryoumindthere]

um, where did you order caterpillars from? I can't find any 'in nature' around here at all. :

[Calidris]

Ahh, but it's not a disaster. It is an important learning experience. Predation, food chains, cycle of life....

[mommy68]

What a cute story!

We found a lot of caterpillars around our house this year but I didn't want the kids to keep them in captivity. I was afraid they would kill them. Maybe next year we can try an experiment like this.

[mom2kbeth]

Oh no! Poor butterfly!

[Dakota's Mom]

Originally Posted by neveryoumindthere

um, where did you order caterpillars from? I can't find any 'in nature' around here at all. :

We bought ours at Insectlore.com . Ours came in a sealed plastic box. You don't take them out of the box at all until they are in the chryssallis. (However you spell that.) Then you take the paper they are attached to out of the plastic thingy and attach it to the side of the butterfly house.

I ordered ours not even thinking about our upcoming vacation. The larvae came, we watched them grow and grow, then they went into their chryssallis, then we went on vacation. Of course they hatched out the day we left. Our friendly neighborhood librarian took care of them for us while we were gone. But we missed the whole part of them coming out and having their first meal and all of that. So we promptly ordered new ones so hopefully we will get to see the whole cycle this time.

When we released ours they all flew away and we never saw they again. I'm hoping that now that it's a bit warmer, this new bunch may stick around a bit.

Kathi

[Ruthla]

mmm butterfly :

I'm glad you were able to save the butterfly. I just wish the bird could have waited until you were out of sight before attacking!

[4evermom]

Oh my! Glad your kids weren't traumatized.

[Pinky Tuscadero]

One of our hostages just built a cocoon today. Hopefully, it won't face the same fate as yours!
How long before it emerges from the cocoon?

[Dakota's Mom]

We have five that just went into their chysalis. The directions with ours said seven to ten days before they come out. I think it depends on what kind of butterfly they are. Ours are painted ladys. The last group we did came out in 8 days.

Kathi

[homeschoolingmama]

I believe they started coming out in about a wk. We got them from ...

BUTTERFLY WINGS N' WISHES
43 Grand Meadow Crescent, Edmonton
Phone - 1-780-462-1839
E-mail: [e-mail]
www.butterflyab.com

I know a few people who have let theirs go. It seems like a couple of ours have crumpled wings that didn't fully expand?

It really was a fun learning experience!

[ZanZansMommy]

I'll have to be extra careful when we release ours (they should hatch by the weekend). We also got ours from insectlore.com

[nancy926]

I could see myself running out to save the butterfly...after all, you were kind of its mom, too!

But, as a PP said, butterflies get eaten. Excellent lesson opportunity to talk about predation. My kids still think carnivores are "mean," but we're working on that.