Butterflies

We had a lot of fun during late May and early June watching the butterflies grow in our "butterfly habitat".   This was a gift for the kids from my mom.    After sending for them, the larvae arrived in a package a few weeks later.  They came in 2 sealed cups that included all the food they needed to survive until they change into butterflies.  We watched the little caterpillars grow bigger and bigger until they finally spun their own cocoons.  Then, they all hung from the top of the cup for about a week and a half.    I had to carefully move them from the cup to the inside of the habitat (which is shown in the picture next to Erika.)  Then, a few days later they each changed into butterflies.    We then fed them pieces of fruit such as pineapple and watermelon.   There were 10 in all but only 3 of them were left when we finally released them into the wild.   I felt bad about this- I should have been more on the ball and let them out sooner.  It was really neat to take them outside and watch them fly away.  It was a fun experience for the kids to watch this process.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone with young kids.