Our caterpillars got ready to pupate the day AFTER our last blog post. When they were ready to do this they started to wander - and wander fast. At one point, before we got a lid on Fred, he managed to get in beside Shaggy ( just as well it was a stick he wanted rather than a snack). Not long after Fred got on the move , Shaggy started to make an escape for it - so lid for him too!
The next morning they had found a spot they were happy with and hung themselves into position for pupation .
They pupated over the following night and this is what we woke up to! Can you see what is left of the caterpillar?
They have been moved outside now to keep cool; I’m hoping next year’s spring brings us two beautiful butterflies to release back into the wild! Over time the pupae will darken; they’ve already changed over the 3 days it’s been.
You can see where the wing is developing already which is pretty cool.
We thoroughly enjoyed raising these caterpillars , even Jared’s Dad couldn’t help but check in on them every day ( he’s actually upset they are outside now too!)
Jared and I are now on the hunt for a Green-veined white egg or caterpillar.. if we find one soon we will have a butterfly to release this year as these guys have more than one brood a year.
Stay tuned for more nature based activities and John Muir Award explorations!
Hey kids well done raising the caterpillars 🐛 grans had as much fun as you all watching them developing look forward to seeing them when they finally escape as beautiful 🦋 butterflies, hope you manage to find some other eggs or caterpillars 🐛 to keep up the interest in nature what a lovely thing to do with the kids and a real treat to see how kind and considerate children can be when they get taught how to look after small creatures well done 👍 mum and dad for teaching them respect and kindness so proud of you all