Butterfly Farm!

Our neighbor from down the street, a very nice boy we know mainly from the bus stop, showed us through example how to raise butterflies.

-- Find Monarch eggs on milkweed leaves (usually the underside). They are quite small, a little bit smaller than a pinhead.
-- In anywhere from 1-5 days, a caterpillar will hatch. So far ours are little, maybe 1/4", and gray with black heads.
-- Give them fresh milkweed leaves every day to eat.
-- After a while they will find a nice spot to hang and make a "J", then a chrysalis.
-- Then the butterfly hatches. Feed it fresh fruit (like oranges, even watermelon).
-- Once the wings are formed, set it free!

Repeat...

We have currently I think 2 caterpillars and 1-2 eggs in one container, and 2 caterpillars and 1 egg in another container.

I don't know who is having more fun so far with this process, me or the girls (mostly G-6 years old)!!!

Here's a teeny baby caterpillar (about 1 day old) and an egg in the same shot, and then another caterpillar. Just click on the photos to see a closer view.