Our Butterflies

A couple of months ago, as I was planning a children’s worship event for Holy Week, I decided I wanted to include butterflies. Real live butterflies, which are an excellent comparison with the resurrection. I started researching caterpillar/butterfly kits, and decided on one. I wrote down what day I’d have to purchase it in order to make the timing work out so that I’d have butterflies (or at least caterpillars in their chrysalis). When the time came, I ordered.

Somehow, I got the timing drastically wrong. When Holy Week came, my butterflies were still caterpillars. I lived and learned, and the caterpillars were still interesting.

My boys were lucky, though, and got to observe the whole process at home.

We received our caterpillars in the mail and they were tiny.

They ate and grew for fourteen days.

They grew and grew.

They grew some more.

Finally on day fourteen of life in the Smith house, they started to take their long sleep. They hung upside down in little “j’s”.

They shed their skin one last time, and formed a chrysalis over night. I really wish they had done this during the day so I could have seen it. I would have been glued to the jar, but I suppose it may have been more like watching a pot boil or whatever that saying is…

After three days of hanging in the cup, we transferred them to their butterfly habitat. Eventually, the first one emerged!

These, by the way, are painted lady butterflies. They look a bit like moths when their wings are folded, but they are quite bright and beautiful when they open their wings.

On Sunday, the other four emerged and we had five butterflies.

We fed them fruit and sugar water and put flowers in their habitat. We observed them for a few days.

Today was a good day to release our butterflies since it was such a beautiful day. After we walked Elias home from school we went into the backyard to let them go.

Once we were outside, they got really active so I think they were excited that they’d have more space to stretch their wings.

In case you’ve never been up close to butterflies, it is actually pretty difficult to catch a good photo with their wings open.

Two butterflies flew out right away, and two more a few minutes later. The last little guy wanted a good snack before he flew off. You can see his proboscis in the sponge drinking the sugar water.

The boys enjoyed watching him for a few more minutes.

After another minute the last butterfly flew into the air, and just like that we said goodbye. Goodbye butterflies!