Saturday, April 30, 2011

120/245

Three weeks away I mentioned how much I enjoyed watching a frog transform from polliwog to adult. This had me thinking and the next thing I knew I was ordering larvae. Several days later a box arrived on my doorstep, the contents; five caterpillars, caterpillar food, a culture kit, and a net cage.

The metamorphosis, from caterpillar to Painted Lady Butterfly, takes about three to four weeks. Currently, they are busy spinning silk and getting ready to form their chrysalids and enter the pupa stage.

The photo is not the best, as it was taken through the glass of their home which is now filled with silk fibers. This little guy may be not be the best looking guy on the block but just we wait and see what happens to him.

10 comments:

Keara @ Now I Know What Life Is All About said...

Oh yea! My boys and I did this last year and loved it! It was one of the neatest things I have ever done. We are actually waiting on our ladybug larve to arrive.

betty-NZ said...

Can't wait to see what happens!

Jennifer Thompson said...

We did this 2 years ago (wish I had my DSLR for that) we actually saw the butterfly come out. I took pics of the whole thing. It was very cool. I can't wait to see your pics!

Gretchen said...

How fun!! I should totally do something like that with my kids... not sure why I never thought of it... just figured we'd "run" into it in nature someday. Looking forward to seeing the progress of your guy!

Carrie said...

Wow, that sounds like a really cool project. Can't wait to see more.

Anonymous said...

Well, we said we wanted to take pictures of babys- I guess this works!
I can't wait to see your chronicles of the different stages!

Catherine said...

Okay, I'm a little squeamish I have to admit. Yes, call me a wuss!

Karin said...

This is so cool! I can't wait to see what he turns out to look like!

elizabeth said...

what a great adventure to photograph
can't wait to see all the photos of their changes -
too cool!!!

Melinda said...

Very cool! I always did this with my first grade classes- very fun to watch!