Neither Sad or Happy - A Butterfly-ical Moment

The boy and girl got out from the butterfly cage over the weekend. We found the boy dead on the classroom floor. About the same time we discovered the demise of one of our butterflies, the girls discovered that the eggs had hatched.  So although we were very sad about the butterfly, we were happy to see the cycle of life continue.

We have not yet found the girl butterfly.

Here are the newborn caterpillars:

We aren't sure how many of them we have. They are too tiny too count accurately.

I coined a new term last year for moments that are neither sad or happy. 

Just a feeling that is suspended in between those two feelings. 

Today was one of those moments. 

BUTTERFLY-ICAL!

Another mama?

We think that the other girl will also be laying eggs within the next few days. Stay tuned for more.

August 24 - Set her free!

 We learned that a butterfly can lay hundreds of eggs but she will only lay a few at a time on each leaf (usually on the underside of the leaf). After she layer about 25 - 30 eggs, we decided to let her go so she can lay more eggs.

 She did not want to leave. She lingered on my hand.

She eventually flew off. She lingered around the building for a while. 

We will miss her!

See the eggs!

August 24, We have eggs!

Around Noon today we noticed the butterfly laying eggs! It was amazing to watch.

1 of the three butterflies is a boy!

We discovered on Monday - August 22 that one of the 3 butterflies we kept is a boy.

August 14 - Released 21!

We released 21 butterflies today at the Meet and Greet Social.

Thursday - August 11 - All butterflies have emerged!

Everyone made it to butterfly stage. One made the transformation but died soon after. The other 24 are all healthy, beautiful monarchs. The ironic thing?  They are all girls, except the one that escaped and we released him a few days ago.  So through the whole process - we only lost one caterpillar and one butterfly. SUCCESS!  We plan to have a beautiful butterfly release at the Huakailani Ice Cream Social on Sunday to flutter in the new school year.

Will be sure to post pictures.

August 10 - Fourteen Butterflies

We released one and have 13 fluttering about in the butterfly cage. They are sipping nectar and enjoying their new life with wings.

Interestingly - they are all girls except the one that we released today.

August 9 = 9 Flutters today!

 I experienced hand feeding 3 butterflies today. Exciting!

 Hand feeding nectar. She was hungry!

Just eclipsed an hour ago.

Monday - August 8 - Two Butterflies!

We have two butterflies. They are both girls. Pics soon.

Sunday - August 7 - Just Hanging Out

The caterpillars have been in their chrysalis for about 4-5 days. They are all just hanging out. Quiet on the outside now but lots of activity going on inside the chrysalis.

August 3 - All is Quiet in the Butterfly House

All 25 caterpillars successfully made it into their Chrysalis. Great success rate. Only 2-3 would have made it to this stage in the wild.

 The last 6 caterpillars climbed to the top of the butterfly cage canopy to become chrysalis.

Videos have been posted...

Metamorphosis videos have been posted.

August 2 - A Busy Day in the Butterfly House

 2 of the remaining 7 that are still caterpillars.

 Caterpillar from Metamorphosis 2. It could not wiggle the skin off.

Caterpillars/Chrysalis  have moved to the butterfly cage - ready for the next stage in the transformation.

 End of the Day Count - August 2 - 18 chrysalis.  1 Hanging "J" caterpillar. 6 Caterpillars.

 Metamorphosis 2 caterpillar before the transformation.

 Still crawling around.

Lots of activity in the Butterfly House today.

Soon they will all be in the very peaceful chrysalis stage for 10 -12 days, just in time for a butterfly release on the first day of school.

August 2 - Transformation - Got Video!

I caught two on video. Will post later. Chrysalis Count is up to 16 now.

August 2 - Saw the Transformation

I actually was lucky enough to see a caterpillar turn into a chrysalis! Wow! I did not have my video camera so I took a picture of it with my phone camera.

The chrysalis to the right was just like the "J" caterpillar in the background to the left one second and then 20 seconds later - it was a chrysalis. It wiggled out of the caterpillar skin, starting at the bottom end first - which is the caterpillar's head. Eventually, the skin was all off and a green chrysalis emerged! The caterpillar/chrysalis then did a wiggle dance!  It was trying to get the skin to fall off. In the picture you can see it almost wiggled it off but got caught on it's way down. So you see some black caterpillar skin hanging at the bottom of the chrysalis.

I will keep checking in to see if I can capture this transformation on video. Amazing!

Now I see how some caterpillars detach and fall. They do so much wiggling during this stage. If they are not anchored securely by their silk thread, they fall.

I had to reattach another little fella today. Another unsuccessful attacher going into the "J."

No wonder only 1 out of 10 caterpillars make it to butterfly stage in the wild.

Chrysalis count today is 15. Yikes!  I just went over there to count the chrysalis and missed a transformation.

I better go keep my eye on them.  More soon!

August 8 - Chrysalis

 The two I attached yesterday are now in their chrysalis stage.

I had to attached another chrysalis that had fall down. We have 10 Chrysalis in all.