Our Butterflies
We thought the best way to learn about the lifecycle of the butterfly was to see it happening right in front of our eyes. Our teacher ordered Painted Lady caterpillars and over the weeks we watched them grow, go through metamorphosis and become butterflies.
Stage 1 - Our caterpillars (larvae) arrive
09/05/17
Our caterpillars arrived in a cardboard box today. This box contained 33 larvae, 33 two ounce vials and lids, special caterpillar food, a brush, a spoon, instructions, 33 attachment squares, and a Chrysalis Station for extra caterpillars. We opened the box immediately and transferred the larvae into their own little nurseries. We measured our caterpillars and they were only 1cm (or 10mm) in length. We hope they eat all of their food and grow bigger over the coming weeks!
Our caterpillars arrived in a cardboard box today. This box contained 33 larvae, 33 two ounce vials and lids, special caterpillar food, a brush, a spoon, instructions, 33 attachment squares, and a Chrysalis Station for extra caterpillars. We opened the box immediately and transferred the larvae into their own little nurseries. We measured our caterpillars and they were only 1cm (or 10mm) in length. We hope they eat all of their food and grow bigger over the coming weeks!
Stage 2 - Our caterpillars are growing
18/05/17
Our caterpillars have been eating lots, spinning silk webs and growing over the past nine days. They have shed their exoskeletons three or four times and have grown to approximately 6cm.....more than 6 times their original size!
Our caterpillars have been eating lots, spinning silk webs and growing over the past nine days. They have shed their exoskeletons three or four times and have grown to approximately 6cm.....more than 6 times their original size!
Stage 3 - Our caterpillars have become chrysalides
22/05/17
Our caterpillars have finished growing, the caterpillars have climbed to the top of their vial. They hung from the lid in a “j” shape under the lid. They shed their exoskeletons one last time (five times in total!) before they pupated (became chrysalides).
The pupa underneath wriggled out of this skin, forcing the empty caterpillar skin up and away from itself. We noticed the pupae is light green with the lower body similar to a smooth caterpillar. The detailed parts flattened into a more smooth and hard chrysalis enclosure.
We did not disturb the caterpillars for three days in order to allow them to safely harden into chrysalides. It was crucial that they not be disturbed at this point as this is their most vulnerable stage.
Our caterpillars have finished growing, the caterpillars have climbed to the top of their vial. They hung from the lid in a “j” shape under the lid. They shed their exoskeletons one last time (five times in total!) before they pupated (became chrysalides).
The pupa underneath wriggled out of this skin, forcing the empty caterpillar skin up and away from itself. We noticed the pupae is light green with the lower body similar to a smooth caterpillar. The detailed parts flattened into a more smooth and hard chrysalis enclosure.
We did not disturb the caterpillars for three days in order to allow them to safely harden into chrysalides. It was crucial that they not be disturbed at this point as this is their most vulnerable stage.
Stage 4 - We moved our chrysalides to the pavilion
25/05/17
The chrysalides have formed and attached themselves to the underside of each lid,we knew it was time to move them into their hatching habitat. It’s a good idea to wait until the last caterpillar that has formed into a chrysalis has hardened for at least two days before moving all of the chrysalides from their cosy cups to their airy new home.
Some of our chrysalides fell to the bottom of the pavilion, we placed them on a paper towel, we hop that all of our pupae emerge from the chrysalis soon!
The chrysalides have formed and attached themselves to the underside of each lid,we knew it was time to move them into their hatching habitat. It’s a good idea to wait until the last caterpillar that has formed into a chrysalis has hardened for at least two days before moving all of the chrysalides from their cosy cups to their airy new home.
Some of our chrysalides fell to the bottom of the pavilion, we placed them on a paper towel, we hop that all of our pupae emerge from the chrysalis soon!
Stage 5 - Our butterflies have emerged!
31/05/17
When our butterfly was ready to emerge, it takes in air through tiny spiracles (tiny holes) in the chrysalis. This added intake of air pressure helps the butterfly split the chrysalis open.
The butterfly climbed out of the split chrysalis with soft, crumpled wings and then position itself, head upward, in a vertical position. Once your butterflies emerged, we did not disturb them while they were expanding and drying their wings. Our butterflies needed some time to rest and recover after their prolonged and complex transformation. We saw that when the butterfly first emerged, its wings were tiny and shrivelled. The butterfly swayed from side to side, forcing haemolymph (insect blood) into the veins of its wings in order to expand them to their full size. We were careful not to touch or disturb the butterfly during this process. We saw that our butterflies expelled a small amount of red meconium during this wing expansion. Evidence of meconium means that our butterflies are healthy!
When our butterfly was ready to emerge, it takes in air through tiny spiracles (tiny holes) in the chrysalis. This added intake of air pressure helps the butterfly split the chrysalis open.
The butterfly climbed out of the split chrysalis with soft, crumpled wings and then position itself, head upward, in a vertical position. Once your butterflies emerged, we did not disturb them while they were expanding and drying their wings. Our butterflies needed some time to rest and recover after their prolonged and complex transformation. We saw that when the butterfly first emerged, its wings were tiny and shrivelled. The butterfly swayed from side to side, forcing haemolymph (insect blood) into the veins of its wings in order to expand them to their full size. We were careful not to touch or disturb the butterfly during this process. We saw that our butterflies expelled a small amount of red meconium during this wing expansion. Evidence of meconium means that our butterflies are healthy!
Stage 6 - Setting our butterflies free
01/06/17
Our butterflies are now adults and are ready to be set free. The Adult Painted Lady Butterfly has a life span of 2 - 8 weeks. We have spent the past few weeks watching and studying the butterfly lifecycle, it was now time to Let Them Go! We made sure that temperature was above 12 degrees celcius, it was dry and not too windy.
We carefully took the butterflies from the pavilion, some of them stayed on our hands (and faces!!) before flying away to their new habitat.
Our butterflies are now adults and are ready to be set free. The Adult Painted Lady Butterfly has a life span of 2 - 8 weeks. We have spent the past few weeks watching and studying the butterfly lifecycle, it was now time to Let Them Go! We made sure that temperature was above 12 degrees celcius, it was dry and not too windy.
We carefully took the butterflies from the pavilion, some of them stayed on our hands (and faces!!) before flying away to their new habitat.