Things are really happening at our house. I've never had such a pet centered week before.Our butterflies are doing well. We will have 5 living ones, dining on flowers, and laying eggs. We brought them some apple blossoms, which they appreciated, but then they went back to their favorite dandelions.
Our caterpillars are munching along as fast as they can. The tiny things look like nothing next to a giant bull thistle leaf. They are growing. I think they are about 1/8 of an inch now. Every time we add a fresh leaf, more eggs are laid too. I can't imagine how many butterflies we are going to have. They will be hatching over many days. When it is time we are going to carry them out and set them on a thistle plant that we are reserving for them, so they will feel at home, and maybe there will be more butterflies that live in our area then ever before. The farmers will be happy for our little thistle eaters to settle in the area.
VJ sent me the link to your blog because I am currently raising monarch butterflies with my son and she thought we would enjoy your butterfly adventure. Your pictures are absolutely amazing! Thank you for sharing, it is fun to see the differences between the two butterfly species. Are you still raising them? How many generations have you seen? What ever happened after the thistles were sprayed? Did you still have some butterflies/caterpillars or eggs inside that survived?
ReplyDeleteI am Leah and my son is Isaac (he is 9).