The*Butterfly*Project

I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free.
~Charles Dickens


There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.
~Richard Buckminster Fuller


When I was in 4th or 5th grade my teacher Mrs. Dewitt did a Butterfly Project with us. She had built a big cage/pen like structure that was made of screen/net and it hung from the ceiling of our classroom (I'm going to have to invite my 2 favorite classmates to my blog so that they can help me remember this). Inside of this she put in stalks of Milkweed.


As a child, I remember watching in wonder as the caterpillars turned into butterflies right before my eyes.


My memory of this is shaky... but I remember going outside to release all the butterflies and thinking it was one of the best things I had ever watched.


For Madi's 3rd birthday one of my best friends from college (Laina) sent her a Butterfly Kit. It was cute. You sent away for the caterpillars and they arrived in a little container. Unfortunately, we had our beach trip the week that they hatched from the cocoons. Aunt Judy was "cocoon" sitting for us and she released them for us. So Madi never got to see them.


I'm one of those people that "live through their children"... but I think I do it in a good way. Not like the... "YOU WILL BE A TAP DANCER BECAUSE I NEVER GOT TO TAKE LESSONS" way... but the sweet way... like "I had this memory from my childhood and I want you to have it, too" way. Make sense?


So after many days of researching online and planning... Mac, my father and I walked through his CREP (if you don't know about CREP... it's a great program!) fields and started looking on the bottom of Milkweed leaves for eggs or already hatched caterpillars. Um, not so easy. They are teeny tiny teeny teeny things when they first hatch. Finally, I just grabbed a bunch of leaves and hoped for the best.


We built a proper habitat for them using a glass Gallon Jar with some sticks to climb to the top. The top has screen instead of a lid... where hopefully they will make their cocoons.


The following day... my mom called to say that her kitten had a large green caterpillar in his mouth... and wondered if it was something I wanted?


So... we brought him into our habitat. I also took another walk through the CREP fields and found what I now know is an actual Monarch Caterpillar... and we also found that we have too baby caterpillars that hatched in our mess of leaves that I plucked.


So... living in our habitat are...

1 Monarch Caterpillar

1 Big green Caterpillar which I just found out is a LUNA MOTH! I'm so EXCITED! They are gorgeous!

and

2 baby Monarch Caterpillars


In reading up on the Luna Moth... I've learned that he doesn't feed off of Milkweed leaves. He eats leaves of Hickory, Walnut and Birch trees. He also doesn't make his cocoon to hang from the top... he rolls himself in a leaf and makes the cocoon there.


So... our project goes on.

So far I can report...

* Monarch Caterpillars eat Milkweed plants in record amounts of time.

*Luna Caterpillars appear to be dead most of the time... but they aren't.

*Mac's cat Mickey Mouse Club House (don't ask) can take the screen off the top of the jar and WILL try to eat the Caterpillar

*I'm so excited to watch this process!!!


The pictures here are some recent photos of our process... I tried to get pics of the baby caterpillars... but I just couldn't do it. They are SOO tiny and green that they match the leaves.


The yellow, black and white one is the Monarch. And the big green BLOB is Mr. Luna.

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower."

~Hans Christian Anderson