Grow your own butterflies!

One of our highlights this summer was a gift from Grandma Johnson that came in the mail...a package containing all you need to grow and care for butterflies. We received 4 containers with 5 tiny caterpillars in each & all they needed was time and a nice steady temperature to grow in. And they did! It took about 10-14 days in each stage - caterpillar and then chrysalis to witness the beautiful Painted Lady butterflies emerge.

We had 16 out of 20 make it to live butterfly stage & just before we left for vacation, we set them free in Grandma Myhre's garden where there are more than enough flowers to keep butterflies happy. One of the kids' biggest hopes was that they would be able to hold them & they finally had their chance when we set them free. (I didn't dare try it in the house just for the fact that SuzyCat went crazy trying to get at them just while they fluttered in their cages! Imagine the casulties if they were free in the house!) Ian wasn't able to get one onto his finger, but he enjoyed watching them fly away.