Ruby has been caring patiently for the caterpillars in the "caterpillar to butterfly" kit Grandpa Marvin and Grandma Linda gave to her. The caterpillars were very tiny when they first arrived! They ate and ate, and grew fast. We were excited to see them hang from the top in the "J" shape, and prepare to form their chrysalises.
When they turned into chrysalises, we moved them into the butterfly container and waited. Yesterday three butterflies were born! (The red stuff is meconium, which comes out of the cocoon when the butterfly is born.) There is one more still in a cocoon. What an amazing transformation to witness!
Ruby fed the butterflies slices of banana and orange, and used a dropper to put drops of sugar water next to their feet. (They have taste buds on their feet.) She even tasted some of the sugar water we mixed and decided that she likes the same food butterflies eat!
Although Ruby would like to keep these beautiful pets forever, she understands that they will need to fly outside. So a few days after the last one is born we will be setting them free in the back yard. Hopefully they will like our purple flowers enough to stay around.
I will try to post two videos. One is of Ruby naming the butterflies (Charlo, Farlo, Lucy and Kucy). The other is of Ruby pretending to be a butterfly coming out of her chrysalis.
No comments:
Post a Comment