As I told you yesterday, six butterflies emerged. Today another one came!  Ten have hatched, three we released and there is one more to go. When they are all finished, I am going to be sort of happy and sort of sad. Happy because I got to see them, sad because we will have to release them.
This one we rescued. It’s leaf dried up and fell off. Momma taped it up to the aquarium. The next morning the tape did not hold and it fell!  Momma and Daddy tied a string around the chrysalis, put a drop of super glue on the knot and then taped it up. This one was the first one to emerge!
Yesterday, Thomas and Sarah came to watch them emerge. They watched all of them emerge.
When they emerge, they millimeter out of their chrysalises :) Then most of them stretch out their wings. Momma says it looks like they are stretching their backs. Then they dry their wings. When they are coming out, it takes about one minute. It takes a half hour to an hour to dry their wings.
When their wings are dry we move them to the cage we made for them. Before that we play with them!
Andrea did this. She put two butterflies on my arms and then put this one on my face! I was not impressed. Momma thought it was funny!
Grandpa sent us this note:
Thanks for the morning. Ma (Grandma Nana) enjoyed watching the new butterflies, she had never seen that happen before.
We tried to feed to feed them the day they hatched, but they did not eat anything. We gave them watermelon last night. They did not eat it.
Today we were hoping to let them free (sort of) and because of the rain we didn’t. We gave them sugar water and watermelon. And when they land on it and their proboscis unrolls, they drink the sweet juice from inside. This picture is of us feeding it on a Q-tip.
We also tried to play with them, but they kept flying away. We gave them a shower. We spritzed them with water!
It has been so interesting to read about your adventures with butterflies. It has been a fun time and hard work for you. Thanks for keeping such a good record with writing and pictures.
Love,
Oma
It was nice to see the pictures of Alaska, I do not think I shall ever get there, Good to see your Ouma and Opa. they Look kind of cold in Summer? Ha Ha It is far north. They might see a late sunset!
Your butterflies are pretty! We serve a wonderful God who made them.
Greetings Lorraine
Did you know that John’s brother is going by mototcycle to Ethiopia. He left on Tuesday. they He and Jo are in Zambia tonight, God willing! They went through Botswana yesterday. Unfortunately the blog is in Afrikaans.Otherwise I would let you go there “riding through africa”