Butterflies

Last year we had a "home grown" butterfly. (a friend found one in a field and gave it to us) This year, thanks to a gift, we were able to watch this fun process again. I ordered some caterpillars and they arrived in our mailbox!

Here they are. There are five total. The brown stuff at the bottom was the food provided for them.



Here they are (a bit blurry) starting to hang upside down to go into their cocoon or chrysalid. This happened about two days after their arrival.



I then transferred them to the inside of the mesh cage. The paper disc was provided by the company inside the food cup, so transfer was easy.




We never did notice them coming out of the chysalid (I think most of them did it overnight)... but here is a blurry close-up of the butterfly. We kept each one for about a day, allowing them access to some sugar water and watermelon, then set them free to fly...