Today in my Multimedia Journalism class we were asked to think of blog topics. Steve suggested we pick a topic we could be experts on. Besides my life as a struggling student journalist, I could come up with one other topic: butterflies. Over the summer my family raises a variety of species right in our backyard. Here are a few pictures to give you some what of an idea of what we've been up to...
The picture below is of a monarch butterfly egg. The monarchs lay them on milkweed plants by the side of my house. In New England, milkweed is becoming increasingly rare. To prevent the town from chopping in down along the bike path, our family has put up red tape around the plants.
Once the caterpillar hatches, it takes 1-2 weeks before it forms a chrysalis. From there it is another couple of weeks before the butterfly emerges.
Along with monarchs, we have also been keeping an eye out for swallowtail caterpillars. This summer we finally found one. They like to snack on queen anne's lace (also known as baby's breath) for a meal. (See picture below.)
What's cool about the swallowtail caterpillar, is its defense technique. When provoked, it will shoot out poisonous orange antenna. Here's a pic of the antenna beginning to come out. (See bellow.)
When this guy formed a chrysalis our family was surprised. The location of the chrysalis determines its color. Because this caterpillar formed his on a brown stick, the chrysalis is brown too. If he had chosen a leaf instead, it would have been a bright green color. Talk about camouflage!
Although summer is over, it will not be official until I see the first woolly bear caterpillar. Their spiky bodies with brown and black stripes can be seen on the ground at the start of fall. Stay tuned and no doubt we'll come across one!
(All photos taken by me)
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