Butterflies

We have company visiting this week. We're having so much fun! Today Mom and her niece visited a butterfly exhibit.

Here are a few photos that Mom took. Butterflies are so beautiful. They are also little miracles.

Butterflies start out as little eggs. The eggs are normally laid on leaves. When the eggs hatch, they come out as caterpillars.

Caterpillars look a little like worms. They can be dark and fuzzy. Some are green and have little horns. A lot of people don't like caterpillars.

Caterpillars eat and eat. They munch leaves. They grow and grow.

When a caterpillar gets really big, a miraculous thing happens. He builds a little house around himself. It is a called a cocoon. For the next several weeks, the caterpillar lives in its cocoon.

While it is inside the cocoon, wonderful things happen. The caterpillar changes from a squirmy wormy into a beautiful creature.

When it comes out from the cocoon, the caterpillar has turned into a butterfly. It has wings and can fly!

To learn about the butterfly life cycle, go to
http://www.milkweedcafe.com/familybflykit.pdf
http://education.sdsc.edu/download/enrich/butterflybook.pdf

To learn how important butterflies are to earth, go to
http://www.nbii.gov/images/uploaded/8496_1244553039032_bamona.pdf

To learn how to plant a butterfly garden, go to http://www.usbg.gov/gardens/upload/butterfly%20handout_FINAL%20to%20GPO.pdf

You can also check out these books from your library:
Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert
Born to Be a Butterfly by Karen Wallace