A Butterfly!!

Last Christmas, my little Emily received a wonderful gift, among a great number of wonderful gifts. This one in particular has proved to be most fun and educational at the same time. I don’t know where our friend got this gift, but it sure has kept us happily occupied for quite awhile!

You see, this gift is a bug-catching kit. It includes a butterfly net, binoculars, a small cage with a magnifying glass door, to enable the viewer to see every little detail of the hapless captured creature.

A few weeks ago, Emily and Sarah caught a few caterpillars. They put them into the cage with leaves and some water. Within two days, we found that a chrysalis had formed! We watched and watched. After a week, I began to wonder if it was just a caterpillar skeleton. However, it began to move! We left for a day, and upon returning, we found a live, beautiful butterfly!

We’ve kept it in the cage for a few days, and finally convinced Emily that the best thing for the butterfly was to let him/her go free. Upon close examination, we found it’s colors to include a gorgeous dark velvet brown, with ivory-colored border, and shimmering, pearlized light blue spots at the base of each wing. I wanted a photograph, but thought about it too late. We let it fly free, and hope to see it’s grandchildren some near future spring.