So, I’m a little weird…

Remember how I like to watch spiders?  I also like to watch bees.  Actually, I love to watch bees.  With a garden like mine, there are always bees.  There is one bee that has been coming back every single day to my basil plant. I don’t think he’s told his friends about it, because he’s the only one.  It must be quite tasty because I watch him every day.

 

I also like to watch caterpillars.  Not the nasty ones that turn into moths, but beautiful ones like the ones eating my parsley.  I did some research and they are the black swallowtail caterpillar, which will turn into a beautiful black and blue butterfly.  They only lay their eggs on plants in the parsley family.  The weird thing about this caterpillar, is when you pick him up, these orange antennae pop out…and they smell like paint!  They are actually scent glands that emit an odor to protect them.  The smell lingered for hours, so it worked! I won’t be picking them up again.  I had to move them because they were eating Dave’s carrot plants and he freaked!

 This is just a flower I love.

This bug kind of freaked me out…but not enough to stop me from getting really close to take a picture! It looked like a cross between a butterfly and a bee!

Wordless Wednesday

This spider is on a bush right outside our garage.  I have a thing for spiders.  I could watch him all day!  I have even caught moths for him.  He shed his skin a few weeks ago.  I had NO idea they could do that!!  Very cool!

Butterflies

Over the past few weeks, my class has watched 5 caterpillars eat, eat, and eat some more, shedding their skin many times as they grew.  The last time they shed their skin, they were no longer a caterpillar.  They were now a chrysalis, hanging from the top of the cup.  Two weeks later and they have transformed into beautiful Painted Lady butterflies.  Today was the day of their release.  Four of them flew off quickly, but one stayed around for a photo shoot.  He was quite content to sit amongst the flowers while the kids looked at him in awe!  Butterflies just absolutely amaze me.  To see the black, spiky caterpillar with 16 legs transform into a beautful butterfly with wings, six legs and a completely different looking body….God is truly miraculous!

Here is our last butterfly in the butterfly house.  In this picture, if you look on the lid, you can see the empty chrysalises.  They are tan.

 

Here he is next to a flower. 

Look at his curling black tongue and his red eyes!  Amazing