In complete awe

We have been lucky to have such warm weather for the Monarch caterpillars.  It's not very often you get to see caterpillars spin their chrysalis.  We also witnessed the final moult of it's skin.

We captured the initial spinning which took over 12 minutes, we were still watching at home time :-)

Have you got any Monarch caterpillars at home?  Have you seen a caterpillar spin it's chrysalis before?  Tell us about it in the comments.

Beautiful Butterflies

What a journey we have been on earlier in the year.  It was a highlight getting to tag butterflies so we can help NZ Monarch Trust understand behaviours of Monarchs over the winter.

We are Entomologists

Is this a butterfly or a moth? How can you tell? 

Have a look here to see if it is a butterfly or a moth.

This is a Painted Lady Butterfly.  I just love her eyes, they are so big but still very delicate.  I wonder what flowers she likes to drink nectar from?

Yesterday at Lachlan's building site he found this insect which he thinks is a Katydid or NZ Bush Cricket (thanks Google).  Have you ever seen anything like this before?  

Coming back from our singing we saw this sunbathing out by our class.  Do you know what it could be?  Look at it's bulging eyes!

Hmmm does anyone know what kind of animal this is?

What strange looking animals these are!

3 Kahuku

Popped into school today and found we had 3 Monarchs bathing in the sun. 2 were recently hatched and one was very content hanging onto KC kid pictures. 

I have also recently found out the Maori name for Monarch is Kahuku (u is pronounced like oo) 

I didn't get any photos as Mrs Busch's children Lachie and Kenzie let them go outside after they had fed them. Jessie McKee also helped. 

There's three more chrysalis' hanging about on the plant. 

I'm afraid this one might not hatch. I noticed the 'gold flecks' were down below and not on top like the others. 

You can see them just at the tip. 

Metamorphosis completed!

We were very lucky to see this butterfly emerge from it's eclose (chrysalis) thanks to the sharp eyes of Tayla, Liam and Jennifer.  

Thanks to our videographer Sam!

For more interesting facts about Monarch caterpillars and butterflies head over to Monarch Guide.

Here are our WONDERINGS we have about caterpillars and butterflies

• How do caterpillars change into butterflies?  By Yoris
• Why do caterpillars make chrysalises?
• How many days does a butterfly live for?
• How do butterflies go to the toilet?  
• How long does it take for a caterpillar to grow into a chrysalis?  By Thomas
• Why does a chrysalis spin when a butterfly comes out?  By Thomas
• How does the chrysalis turn black?  By Yoris
• How do caterpillars breath when they are in the chrysalis?  By Tayla
• Why did the chrysalis turn black?  By James
• How long does it take a butterfly to come out of a chrysalis?  By James
• What happens while caterpillars are in their chrysalises?  By James

Can you help us with any of our WONDERINGS?  Leave us a comment.

Butterflies

Butterflies on PhotoPeach

Butterflies

Butterflies on PhotoPeach

Butterflies Drink too

We have discovered lots of new and interesting facts about caterpillars and butterflies.
Here are some of our discoveries. . .

Caterpillars have hooks on their feet
As caterpillars grow and get fatter, they split their skin
Butterflies drink using their proboscis like a straw
Butterflies drink nectar from flowers
Caterpillars have to eat lots of leaves so then they can turn into butterflies
Boy butterflies have 2 small dots at the bottom of their wings
Chrysalis's are delicate


Come and read our stories about caterpillars and butterflies.  We also drew some butterflies using water coloured paints and learnt about symmetry.

Hungry Caterpillars no more

Room 7 has had the last of their visitors leave to continue on their life cycle.  It has been a delight to see children (and adults) come in and check on the progress of the hungry caterpillars or noting the slight changes in the chrysalis's.  We have set all of them free (sorry forgot to take video) and waved goodbye as they flew away.

We also gave some baby caterpillars and eggs to Tania's classroom as we just did not have enough food to feed all of our "hungry caterpillars."