A lesson in Monarchs

One day while working in the garden with her Daddy,
he saw something and had a great idea.
Tim told Brooke about how he used to catch Monarch caterpillars
as a child and he and his Mom would put them in the window.
Between the window and the storm window they would
make magic. This of course had Brooke's attention.
She wanted to see what this magic was all about.

The bindweed flowers near the garden were very aromatic
and full of every pollen loving insect imaginable.
Amongst the wasps, hornets, bumble bees, honey bees, ants, moths, and
butterflies of every color including Monarchs, Brooke and Tim found
seven Monarch caterpillars.
Brooke lit up when she told me she had the perfect cage to put them in.
As she dashed to her bedroom to fetch the butterfly house
Tim harvested some of the weeds and collected the caterpillars
to meet her on the porch.

In the next couple days, things were happening.
Chrysalis were forming and color was already changing.
Notice the freckle face grin in the back.
We tried describing what was to come and then Brooke
suggested to google it.
http://www.monarch-butterfly.com

We found lots of time lapse footage of Chrysalis formation
and butterfly emergence. The happy dance was amazing.
She was thrilled at the color changing that took place before hatching.

She learned how to tell the difference between male and female butterflies.
Notice this one on the lower set of wings, has a dark spot or "ball"
in the middle of each wing. This indicates a male. (of course)
The wings are not quit dry on this one yet and still are growing.
Brooke couldn't believe how large they get.
We also showed her online the migration destination
with thousands of Monarchs.

Proud as a Mommy!