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If you have been reading some of my previous articles, you may have figured out that my family enjoys raising various insects and watching them transform. Our kids really get a kick out of it and get so excited when they see them change into something new.
This is another one of those articles and probably one of our kids favorites.
With the smooth fluttering of their wings, they slowly move through the air from one plant to the next, looking for pollen. This movement and their beautiful colors give us a sense of happiness and relaxation.
As they move through the air, they seem so misdirected on where they are going. Up and down, left and right. Are they lost or just learning how to fly? I think this is just how they move, adding to their peaceful flight.
Many fly solitary, while others migrate with thousands and thousands of others.
One of the main benefits of the butterfly is that they pollinate plants, which helps fruits, flowers, and vegetables to produce new seeds so they can reproduce. Just like how bees do. With this, our gardens are helped by these pollinators and we then have food and beautiful gardens to enjoy.
On the other hand, one might say that they aren’t necessarily as beneficial in their younger days. They start off as caterpillars, and most of us know that caterpillars eat plants. But, if it weren’t for the caterpillars, butterflies wouldn’t exist. It is amazing how much these caterpillars eat during their short time, but this usually causes little damage to the plant, unless if they are Tomato Horn Worms! Those things eat more than they should.
Not all caterpillars turn into butterflies. Some turn into moths. Moths too are beneficial, just like butterflies. Both are important pollinators, so maybe we should help protect caterpillars, moths, and butterflies equally and not just enjoy their beautiful flying stage.
The Various Stages of a Butterfly
This beautiful insect goes through various transformations throughout its life. This transformation is known as metamorphosis.
From eggs, to caterpillar, to pupa (chrysalis), and then into a beautiful butterfly.
Stage 1: The Egg
I cannot say that I have yet seen caterpillar eggs myself. Maybe I have seen them, but I can’t say for sure. Because of that, I have no photos to share with you here.
This is the first stage in the butterflies life.
The eggs are laid by an adult butterfly, starting a new life for another beautiful beneficial insect.
Most lay their eggs on the leaves of plants, usually on the plants that they like. Some eggs are laid on top of the leaves, while others are on the underside of the leaves. They are small, very small.
Stage 2: The Caterpillar
The caterpillar is probably one of the most destructive stages of the butterflies life-cycle, yet it’s very fascinating to watch them grow and transform so quickly.
They start off as very tiny caterpillars. After all, their eggs were super tiny. They rapidly grow day by day, and while they are growing, they are eating, eating, and eating. Did I say they eat a lot? Well, they need to eat a lot in order to grow a lot. Kind of like what we tell our kids when they don’t want to eat the meal that was put in front of them.
When we raised butterflies on our own, we received them as small caterpillars. We got to watch them grow and transform into their next stage, the pupa.
Here are some of the caterpillars in the silk they make. This silk is placed all over inside their container.
These guys are now starting to end their caterpillar stage and begin transforming into a pupa. They hang upside down and start to pupate.
As they continue to grow, their home in this container starts to look a bit messy.
Stage 3: The Pupa (Chrysalis)
The pupa is also known as the chrysalis.
During this process, they create a hard outer shell over themselves. This is different than most moth caterpillars.
The caterpillar a finds a location where they can hang from and transform into a chrysalis. It truly is an amazing sight to watch them transform and it happens fairly quickly considering the transformation that takes place.
Chrysalis come in different colors and sizes, depending on the species of butterfly. Some are brownish, grey, and others I have seen are a bright green to almost a bluish color.
The best setup of chrysalis I have seen displayed so far is at the Living Desert in Palm Springs, which by the way, is a really great zoo. They have a really cool butterfly exhibit and just outside the exhibit is a little room with a window showing a bunch of the different chrysalis they are raising. According to their website, they have more than thirty species of butterflies.
While the pupa is transforming into this chrysalis, you may notice some sudden movements it makes. They sometimes appear to be having a lot of spasms. This seems to be normal and a part of their transformation.
Stage 4: The Butterfly
Ah, the butterfly stage. This is probably the stage that most people enjoy the most.
This is the stage where they really are beneficial to our plants. They fly from one plant to the next, pollinating them.
There are many different species of butterflies. Some are small, other are large. Some species are very colorful, while others are not as much.
No matter the size or color, they are all fun to watch.
Raising the butterflies from this kit (paid link) allowed our kids to handle them for a short time. It was a great experience for them and they got to see them up close.
We only kept the butterflies for a couple days because we wanted them to live their lives and do their own thing.
How to Raise Butterflies Yourself
When we bought our kit (paid link), it did not include the Butterfly Journal and only included one each of the Deluxe Chrysalis Station Logs and only five caterpillars. It appears Insect Lore has upgraded the kit, which would be beneficial to you.
We have bought this kit (paid link) twice now and each time has been a success.
I highly recommend trying out this kit yourself and allow your kids to be fully engaged with it. When you release the butterflies, allow them to gently hold the butterfly as our kids did in the photos above. It is an experience they love.
How to Attract Butterflies to your Garden
If you want to attract butterflies to your garden, try planting plants that attract them.
The Gardeners Supply Company has a great list of plants that attract butterflies. Check it out here.