Not what you think

When I got into class this morning, 4 of the butterfly's had emerged from their cocoons, and one was still in the cocoon. You can see 3 of the butterfly's in this photo and the cocoon. The 4th butterfly is inside the plastic container at the bottom right of the picture. By 11:15 the 5th butterfly had emerged. The children where so thrilled. Those red/orange spots on the fence post are ladybug cocoons. They will be hatching in a few days, which will probably be Sat. or Sunday so we'll miss that.

The tiny tiny black spots on the green leaves are the silkworms. I took the picture on Monday and they are twice that size by Wednesday. Unfortunately I have no photos as they were on the insides of the leaves and hard to to see. I hope to have some more up to date photos by Friday. You can actually see the big white head on their little bodies. The praying mantis have not yet emerged from their egg. When they do we will let them go because that is what is recommended, as it is hard to feed them in captivity unless you're some kind of scientist or bug person that can get food for the little tiny creatures. I will try and get a picture when that happens. If we let them go they they can feast on whatever is outside. We will let them go next to the pasture.