The Life Cycle of the Butterfly
1st and 2nd Class have been learning about the life cycle of the butterfly in science recently. We bought in a kit from Insect Lore in the UK. They sent us all we would need to observe the life cycle of the butterfly as they change from egg to caterpillar to chrysalide (pupa) to butterfly)
Our five tiny caterpillars arrived on Monday April 15th. At first they were moving very little and we weren't even sure if they were alive. Then they became more active and we were delighted that they were all alive. They eat the tan coloured food at the bottom of the jar.
They began to spin a lot of web and we were afraid they were caught up in it but they seem to escape from the web. This webbing is normal and the caterpillars use it to help them cling to plants and to protect themselves by pulling leaves around themselves to hide from predators.
Two weeks after arriving they have grown huge, perhaps ten times their size when they arrived. They seem to be taking an interest in the underside of the lid of the cup so we think they may be about to form their chrysalide.
Our five tiny caterpillars arrived on Monday April 15th. At first they were moving very little and we weren't even sure if they were alive. Then they became more active and we were delighted that they were all alive. They eat the tan coloured food at the bottom of the jar.
They began to spin a lot of web and we were afraid they were caught up in it but they seem to escape from the web. This webbing is normal and the caterpillars use it to help them cling to plants and to protect themselves by pulling leaves around themselves to hide from predators.
Two weeks after arriving they have grown huge, perhaps ten times their size when they arrived. They seem to be taking an interest in the underside of the lid of the cup so we think they may be about to form their chrysalide.
April 13th
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April 14th
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April 15th
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April 16th
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April 19th
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April 21st
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April 22nd
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April 26th
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April 27th
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April 28th
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April 30th
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May 2nd - Hanging around and getting ready to starting the pupa
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May 2nd - Haven't we grown?
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May 3rd - Four of the five caterpillars are on the lid now.
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May 4th. One caterpillar has made their pupa today.
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May 5th - Three of the five caterpillars have now formed their pupa.
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May 6th - Four pupa now.
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May 7th
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May 17th - The caterpillars have been in the pupa stage for 10 days now.
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May 24th - our first butterfly appeared over the weekend.
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May 24th - Our second butterfly has come out of its pupa also and is unravelling it wings.
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May 24th - Our third butterfly is just emerging from its pupa (you can see two antenna at the bottom). You can see the remains of butterfly number 2 on the right.
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May 31st - we let our two butterflies off today. Fly free little ones.
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