Thistles for Our Ladies

After consulting our favorite Jr. High science teacher, we went out in search of thistles for our Painted Ladies. They are more likely to lay eggs if there is some food for the baby caterpillars when they hatch. We dug up some small plants and put them in four empty pots.
The butterflies got excited when we put the thistles in the aquarium. They crawled over them eagerly, as if testing their quality territory.

We discovered that the butterflies didn't mind being held. Oh my! That sure was fun! If they flew away, they went straight to the window, so it was easy to get them to crawl back on our hands. I love having butterfly pets!