Storm damage on Blue Ridge Parkway waiting for damage to be cleared
Sharing with Floral Friday Fotos
I made a wall pillow (suitable to hang outside) with milkweed and a Monarch. I gave it to my son who might or might not hang it up somewhere.
The UU Congregation in Black Mountain (UUCSV) had a great project for the religious education classes. (I recently said I wish I'd been able to attend a religious education program like the Unitarian Universalists have.)
In Religious Education this month we've been learning about pollinators and how incredibly important they are to ecosystem. We had the chance to observe some mature caterpillars last Sunday as they began the process of transforming into their chrysalis phase (pupation), and now those chrysalis are hardening.
Day 1 - this is what the caterpillars looked like when they arrived April 16th. Notice how tiny they are!There is just a little webbing in the cup, and the food substance* (at the bottom) is smooth.
*This paste provides all the necessary nutrients for rapid growth, including carbohydrates (sugars), proteins (such as soybean meal, casein, or yeast extract), lipids (vegetable oils), vitamins, and minerals.
Day 6 - This is what the caterpillars looked like just 5 days after they arrived! You can see they've more than doubled in size (and grown-ups say human kids grow quickly)! There's a bit more webbing in the cup, the food has been disturbed, and you can see evidence of waste & molted skin.
Day 13 - April 28th. Our caterpillars (Painted Lady variety) have now all formed their silk pads to attached to the lid, made their "J" shape and shed for a fifth time creating a chrysalis (or pupa). The chrysalises (or chrysalides) quickly begin to dry and harden after this final molting.
For more videos of this process (by a Monarch group) see this site:
There's a Facebook video (reel) of the chrysalises being transferred to the butterfly habitat...I hope it works to see this next step. https://www.facebook.com/reel/2559825441143110
Adult Painted Lady Butterfly from the internet.
Change is good, I love the butterflies. Beautiful view of the mountains and sky. The flowers are lovely.
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