Sean and I got Jaiden a "butterfly treehouse" for Christmas, and right before Spring Break, we received our order of caterpillar larvae in the U.S. mail! (Forget snail mail, right?!?) A little cardboard box with a little plastic cup arrived with 5 teensy-tiny caterpillars inside.
On day one at the Alcazar house, the caterpillars were about the size of grains of rice. The next day, they were twice that long. The day after that, they were twice their size again... but this time twice as fat!
They grew more and more every day until three days ago when they crawled to the top of their little cup and hung upside-down like little letter "J's." That's when the first part of the transformation began. The little guys swung and shook and turned their little caterpillar bodies into hard, irridescent chrysalides. It was amazing to watch!
Today, Jaiden and I moved the 5 little chrysalides into their butterfly tree house. In about a week, we should see the immergence of painted lady butterflies.
We're pretty excited. Actually, I think I may be the most excited of all. It's SOOOOOOO cool! And I plan to document more as the excitement continues. So check back for butterfly updates!
2 comments:
Oh that is neat! Where did you find the butterfly treehouse?
Amanda -- we got the butterfly treehouse at Toys R' Us. But I added a link on this post to the company that sells them (Insect Lore)! Just click on "butterfly treehouse," and it should take you there! They have LOTS of neat stuff! (I think ladybugs may be next on my... I mean OUR list!)
Post a Comment