Week 3 with our Painted Lady Butterflies

When we returned to school on Monday, none of our butterflies had emerged from the chrysalises.  As the day progressed, we kept a close eye on what was happening and sure enough near the end of the day our first butterfly came out of the chrysalis.

Day 17

We dipped cotton balls in sugar water for the butterflies to eat and watched with fascination as they used their long tongue or proboscis to get their food.

The rest of the chrysalises were wiggling like crazy as the butterflies inside them worked hard to be released from the covering.  It sounded like wings flapping already as they vibrated inside the container.

Mrs. Boucha and the JK's put 2 of the butterflies into the butterfly house so we could observe them for a bit.

Day 18

Today we released most of the butterflies with the help of the SK's.  We were very careful and sat very still so the butterflies could land on us.  Some of them landed on our hats, clothes and even on our fingers.  We also got some of them to climb onto a stick so we could release them in safety.  It was a pretty exciting day all around.

Day 19

It has been quite the adventure for us.  Stay tuned---next week we are going to observe tadpoles.