13 May A Fascinating Account Of How Caterpillars Become Butterflies

Clark and Luci have both been interested in caterpillars and butterflies for some time. One thing I have learned so far in our homeschool journey is that there is never a better time to learn more about something than when the kids are interested in it. I would also venture a guess that there probably isn’t a better way to learn about how caterpillars become butterflies than to watch them grow in your home.

We ordered the kit and caterpillars online from Insect Lore.  I do not intend to go very in-depth with this study, as we are just finishing up preschool.  My intention is to simply give the children some exposure to nature and let them build their own relationships with it.   

Day 1

The Caterpillars arrived.  We set the container out where we could watch the caterpillars all day.  They were pretty small and moved very slowly.  The food required is already in the container, so all there is to do is to watch and wait.  

Day 2 – 3

I forgot to take pictures (my ONE job!) on Day 2, but basically no there was no change. On Day 3, we noticed that the caterpillars were definitively getting bigger.  They are also moving around a lot more.  

Day 4

Today, for the first time, a caterpillar had climbed to the top of the container.  We watched all day, waiting for it to hang from the lid and make his chrysalis.  It was pretty exciting to see him hanging by the afternoon!  

We also noticed that the bottom of the container was being filled with webs or fibers.

Day 5

The next morning, the first caterpillar still had not changed into a chrysalis.  Several of the other caterpillars looked like they were thinking about climbing to the top.  By the afternoon, the first caterpillar was safely inside his chrysalis.  We missed it.  Three other caterpillars were almost at the top of the container. If any of the caterpillars neared the chrysalis it began to shake wildly as though to keep them away.

Day 6

We woke up on the sixth day to find four of the caterpillars hanging from the lid in the shape of a “J”.  By the after noon, the fifth and last caterpillar had joined them.  Two had now formed into chrysalides. 

Day 7

By the end of our first week, all but one of the caterpillars had suspended themselves from the top of the container and formed into a chrysalis.  The transformation seems to be very quick because we have missed it EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Day 8

We missed taking pictures this day.  Today the final caterpillar turned into a chrysalis.  Now all five are on their way to becoming caterpillars.  Clark learned in school that this can take 7 – 10 days.  We checked a pile of butterfly books out of the library so we can learn more about them. 

Day 9

Moving Day!  Now, since all of the caterpillars are safely suspended to the top, it is time to move them to their new home.  I removed the lid and peeled off the piece of paper which they are hanging from.  There was a lot of netting stuck to it, so we had to remove that first.  It was kind of like stretchy spider web that wanted to stick to the paper. 

The move was not as smooth as I would have liked.  A couple of the chrysalides seemed to get very irritated at being moved.  They beat back and forth for several minutes before settling down.

Day 10-14

The chrysalides have settled quietly into their new home.  Now we wait… 

Day 15

Today was a sad and a happy day.  We awoke to find that one of our butterflies had half-way emerged from it’s chrysalis but had gotten tangled in some of the webbing that was still attached to the paper.  We pulled his chrysalis loose but it was too late for our first butterfly.  By the afternoon, two more butterflies had emerged and were moving tentatively around their new home.  Again, we missed the event each time. 

Day 16

We watched our two butterflies today, but they were fairly quiet.  We put some sugar water out, along with some nectarines, but neither seemed very interested. 

Day 17

The final two butterflies broke free from their chrysalides today.  We now have four lovely Painted Lady butterflies!  Clark and Luci were very excited to release them, and since they seemed rather lethargic and uninterested in our food, I thought it was probably best not to keep them much longer. 

 Want to see us release the butterflies?  CLICK HERE!