Sunday, May 22: The great butterfly liberation

Friday afternoon we gathered in the front garden to send off our butterfly friends. Some of them bolted out of there in the blink of an eye, but a few stuck around for a while to say a proper goodbye. In the spirit of protecting the privacy of our kiddos, I cannot include any pictures of faces, but here are some pictures of our final moments with our beauties. The coolest thing is that these pictures were taken by the kiddos as they took turns taking snaps on a couple of iPads.

Thursday, May 19: And then there were 20

When I arrived at school this morning there were 14 new butterflies, for a total of 18. Two more emerged throughout the day. There are about 8 chrysalises left.

Tomorrow we will be releasing our friends in the front garden at Falgarwood so they have access to flowers and bushes. Any latecomers will be set free at the end of the day on Tuesday.

Painted Lady Butterflies really like watermelon juice. Thanks to GG and BS for taking care of that.

An empty chrysalis after producing the goods.

Wednesday, May 18: Our little beauties are emerging!

We have butterflies! When I arrived this morning, there was one. By the end of the day there were four. The most amazing thing is that we watched two of them as they emerged from their chrysalises. What a heartwarming thing it is for a teacher to watch 24 kids so mesmerized by something like this.

We learned about that red stuff you can see in the pictures. According to www.insectlore.com, it's called meconium. Here's what they say about it:

"Your butterflies will expel a red liquid called meconium. This is a completely natural occurrence. Meconium is the leftover part of the caterpillar that was not needed to make the butterfly. This is stored in the intestine of the butterfly and expelled after the butterfly emerges."

In time for the long weekend, we will release any of our friends who have emerged, and then we will let any that emerge over the weekend go early next week.

Sunday, May 15: Weekend Update

The other day we talked about how some babies are born looking like itty bitty versions of their parents, such as humans and kittens. We also talked about babies that are born looking nothing like their parents, such as butterflies (who start off as caterpillars) and frogs (who start off as tadpoles).

We also talked about how some babies are born looking generally like their parents, but something is different, such as their colouring. Remember the story: The Ugly Duckling?

These geese with their four goslings stopped me in my tracks yesterday while I was running in Bayfront Park. What a perfect example. The babies look like little birds, but they won't have their distinctive goose markings until they are full grown.

Wednesday, May 11: Now we just wait

All the chysalises are formed now and suspended from the ceiling in the butterfly house. Now we just wait a week or so for the beauties to emerge.

Time to hang up the butterflies in waiting.

Such an amazing thing: the chrysalis.

We have about 25-30 chrysalises. 

Tuesday, May 10 - We have chrysalis action!

Out of the corner of my eye today I noticed that one of our friends was wriggling in the throes of transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis. Many of the kiddos had a chance to witness this seemingly clandestine activity that only seems to take a few minutes.

When they're ready to transform, they enter what's called the J shape. They suspend themselves and wait.

Hanging around waiting.

Butterflies in waiting...

Sunday, May 8 - Butterflies - Our babies are growing up!

A week of growth is clearly a lot for butterfly larvae. Here are some shots and observations from the past week.

Thursday, April 28 - After their first night alone in their new homes, the most important thing was to check to see if they had pooped. There it is...

Monday, May 1 - After the weekend they were about twice as big.

Thursday, May 5 - After a week they're much bigger and they have been molting. Molting is the process of shedding pieces of their exoskeleton as they grow.

Friday, May 6 - Showing some signs that they are perhaps getting ready to start forming their chrysalis. They have a silver/white stripe rather then being a solid nearly black colour. They all seem to be moving toward the top of their cups and hanging out on and around the lids. 

Will we return on Monday to find any of our friends in the chrysalis stage? Stay tuned...