We had intended to take our chrysalis on vacation with us, so that we could potentially catch it opening up and make sure it got outside. But, OOPS! We forgot to pack it!!! Knowing that Black Swallowtail Caterpillars take 1-2 weeks to emerge from the chrysalis meant that we had a good chance of killing it by not getting home in time. We came home and found it---hanging out just a few feet from where the jar had been kept.
And even better---the butterfly was alive!!!
We were relieved. It wasn't doing so well (it seemed to be confused and was doing an awkward flapping thing) , but we managed to help it get outside and off it flew.
Success!!
Bryce checking out the butterfly.
Here's the empty chrysalis. You can really see how it was attached to the stick in this shot. I'm saving it for the kids to take to school.
Let's recap:
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| black swallowtail caterpillar (blurry-he's fast!) |
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| Found the perfect branch and "hangs out" for 2 days. |
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| Forms a chrysalis and we wait. |
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| We forget to take the chrysalis on vacation and come home to a beautiful Black Swallowtail Butterfly! |
That is really cool. What a great lesson for the kids. I have never seen a butterfly like that up close.
ReplyDeleteThat is so very cool! I have never found a chrysalis before. What a wonderful thing for your boys to see up close. Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen these caterpillars before and we were so pleased we managed to keep one alive long enough to form a chrysalis AND then emerge as a butterfly. We'll be trying this again, assuming I can find some caterpillars! =) It really was an educational project-for my husband and I, too.
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