raising butterflies

You may remember from my easter post that the kids received the Live Butterfly Garden for easter this year. Well, here's an update! This is what the caterpillars looked like on Easter.

They stayed in these cups, complete with all the food they needed to grow up and turn into a chrysallis. I'm glad we weren't supposed to open them, because they kind of grossed me out.

Once they got big enough, the caterpillars fastened themselves to the top of the cup, and started transforming. It was so wierd to see, but cool at the same time!

When they had all turned into chrysallis', we transformed them into their bigger net, so they would have enough room to fly when they turned into butterflies.

After about a week, they started hatching out of their cocoons! It happened so quickly though. One minute I would check them, and a few minutes later, we'd see a butterfly. We never got to see one actually come out.

You just put sliced oranges and tissues soaked with sugar water at the bottom of their habitat, and watch them stick out their little straw-mouths to suck the juice.

We decided to let them go last weekend when it was nice weather. That may have been a mistake though, because the very next day we had horrendous winds, then cold temps, and it hasn't stopped raining since! So we probably should have waited. I don't know if they would have survived all that!

It was a fun experience for us all to watch. It really was amazing how those little creatures just knew what to do. When we let them go, Bailee said that it was kind of like Jesus and the resurrection. He went into the tomb wrapped in clothes, and later emerged! I wish I could remember her exact words. But I was impressed that she saw the comparison!