Well, school is out for the preschoolers, which means I have to come up with some interesting and toddler captivating activities for these summer months. What to do, what to do, what to do?
We have a nice little garden, and our little guy has been helping me in there. He is an excellent bamboo stake sticker-inner, if that makes sense. He is also a good little digger, but hmmm, what to do?
I want to instill in him a love of the outdoors and nature. My husband loves to hunt and fish, so he has that mutual respect with the animals and fish and their habitats. Without healthy habitats, his prey won't be healthy and won't reproduce . . . but how do you get a not-quite-two year old involved at the right level?
I think the answer is small, delicate and flies . . . Butterflies!
Now, I don't want to order some poor anesthestized insects, unwrapp them only to have them drop on the floor, dead or worse, alive but with ripped wings. I want to:
1. Raise them ourselves!
2. Teach about the life cycle; let little man and his sister watch them change.
3. Raise butterflies native to my area.
4. Have little man help me in the butterfly garden so he can see how it all works!
This is where I started: Google . . . where else do you start these days? I would love to hit up the library, but little man and sister are sleeping, so Google it is!
The North American Butterfly Association has an excellent site. They have information on how to grow a catepillar and butterfly friendly garden. Lists of catepillar plants, butterlfy plants, native species, etc. They also have a section listing local chapters of the NABA. On those websites, you can find specific information as to your local species and what local plants they enjoy!
Then there is Butterflies and Moths of North America. Again, you can select your area based on the map choice on the left hand side of the site and keep zooming in until you are looking at the specifics for your county. I got so much information from this site, I had to open a Word Document in order to cut and paste all the stuff I wanted to learn! The best part, there are pictures of the butterflies and some of their catepillars! They also have a children's site!
The other thing I was looking for was a good field guide for butterflies. I found the Audubon Society's Guide to North American Butterflies. Just from the shape-plates, I learned the difference between swallow tails, skippers, folded wing and angled wing butterflies. There are also plates to aid in egg and catepillar identification.
There is a lot to do to prepare for baby butterlifes: "house" to grow in, food onsite, pupation sticks, release location, butterfly gardens or butterfly feeders, etc.
So, now I have my next project in the "wings." I hope some of you decide to rear butterflies this year and maybe next year as well. All the info is on those websites, as I am not an expert. I'm just a mom looking for something to do with my children that will not only help pollinate my garden, but also will help instill an appreciation of the natural world in my children!
Images courtesy Butterflies and Moths of North America, University of South Florida, North American Butterlfy Association, Butterflies and Moths of North America and Amazon.com.
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