Saturday, August 21, 2010

Caddie the Caterpillar--has hatched!!

About 2 weeks ago Gracie found Caddie the caterpillar on some Queen Anne's Lace wildflowers out in the back fields.

We identified Caddie as a Black Swallowtail caterpillar.

Gracie found Caddie a few days before she transformed into a chrysalis.
Right on time, ten days after entering the chrysalis stage, Caddie has hatched, revealing the truth.....Caddie is a boy....(you can tell by the amount of yellow on the outer wings.)
You can see the empty chrysalis at the top of the photo.
Time for the release.
Out into the fields we went, a perfect spot for a new caterpillar to find the sweet snack of nectar.
Sorry we thought you were a girl, Caddie.
He wasn't eager for help getting out of the butterfly habitat.
Finally, he found his own way out.
Beautiful....
Just beautiful....
Now, this is what I call a science lesson!!

4 comments:

Katie said...

Great Pictures! It looks like you all had a great time.

Rhonda said...

YAY! What a beautiful butterfly and a great lesson

An Almost Unschooling Mom said...

Terrific photos! And, thanks for the lesson on how to tell the sex of Swallowtail butterflies.

Ticia said...

Those are great pictures! I love raising butterflies.

Thanks for linking up!